More than 20,000 people packed the Staples Center on Monday for the Kobe and Gianna Bryant memorial service, including NBA and WNBA legends past and present, musicians, celebrities and fans. According to ESPN, more than 80,000 people entered a random drawing for the chance to purchase tickets to the service, but only a fraction actually got through.
Those who were fortunate enough to be in attendance received a special edition t-shirt and program, both featuring memorable photos taken of the Laker legend and his daughter. While most Kobe fans will cherish those items forever, others have taken to eBay in an attempt to cash in.
According to TMZ Sports, one seller's Kobe t-shirt from the memorial service sold for $2,025 after less than 24 hours on the auction block. Others are offering "Kobe Memorial" bundle packs, which includes the t-shirt and program, with starting bids of $3,000 and a "Buy It Now" of $5,000. Of course, this isn't the first time that opportunistic resellers have looked to pad their pockets with mourners' money.
Almost immediately after news of the tragic helicopter crash was confirmed, Nike sold out of their stock of Kobe gear and the prices of Kobe's popular Nike sneakers jumped to more than 4x the amount that they typically resell for.
Whether or not you agree that it's morally wrong, we can expect much of the same when Nike drops the "Lakers" Kobe 5 Protro next month.
Nick Young Accused Of Stealing Kobe Bryant T-Shirt Design
Nick Young issues his response after being accused of ripping off a Kobe Bryant tribute t-shirt design.
NBA champion Nick Young has been accused of stealing a Kobe Bryant tribute t-shirt design and selling it under his own brand, Most Hated.
The original designer of the shirt, Daviid Minor, claims that he sent Young a freebie because he knew how much the former Laker loved Kobe Bryant. However, Minor alleges that Young later blocked him on social media and began selling his own version of the shirt, as outlined in the screenshots embedded below.
After being called out for ripping off the Kobe tribute design, Young's "Most Hated" brand accused the designer of trying to profit of Kobe's death, despite the fact that the dude stated proceeds would be donated to the Mamba & Mambacita Foundation. The messages shared on the "Most Hated" IG story are as follows:
"Anyone who wins and supports people who try to make money with people who are no longer here, since they have no connection with him and only make money to be a jerk [100%], there is no place for that in this world."
"I'm not here for people to try to make money with Kobe and if you support that it's bullshit. If you don't have any history with him and just do things to make money with him, it's a suction."
Swaggy P also added the following note from his personal twitter account: "We live in a world where ppl can say what they want and it’s no consequence ... so instead of trying to prove ppl wrong I said to myself what would 50 cent do in this situation lol. Sue ..."
