The untimely death of basketball icon Kobe Bryant has been a dark episode in the history of basketball, if not the entire global sports fraternity.
The five time NBA champion, along with his 13-year-old daughter and a future WNBA prospect Gigi Bryant, lost their lives in a helicopter crash in California on 26th January last year, leaving behind his wife Vanessa and three daughter- Natalia, Bianka, and Capri.
the aftermath of Kobe’s death saw some major impacts in the sport, from numerous tributes on one hand to some striking revelations about the actual reason behind the helicopter crash.
Along with the above, there has been a crack formed in the relationship between Vanessa Bryant and her mother Sofia Laine (nee Urbieta), and it all stems from a lifetime financial support promise from the late NBA star.
Vanessa Bryant vs Sofia Laine: A mother-daughter clash that originated from Kobe’s financial promise
In December last year, Sofia Laine had filed a lawsuit against Vanessa, referring to the promise that Kobe and his wife had made, to support her for lifetime after her ex-husband Stephen Laine tried to reduce spousal support payments ten years back
In exchange for the financial support, Laine would be working as a nanny for the kids as she was living with the Bryants in their multi million dollar mansion.
However, in her lawsuit, Laine claimed that she was forcefully pushed to work for 18 hours at a stretch and did not receive any proper meal or pauses in between and claims that after Kobe’s death, Vanessa has been trying to dismiss the financial promise that her late husband made to her mother and even kicked her out of the house.
“Kobe Bryant repeatedly promised to take care of plaintiff financially for life in exchange for her services as a nanny and caretaker for the Bryants’ children,” Laine’s lawsuit stated, “unfortunately, Kobe Bryant’s promises did not see the light of day as he is now deceased, and Vanessa Bryant took each and every step she could to void and cancel all of Kobe Bryant’s promises.”
In return, Vanessa accused her mother of extortion, claiming that Laine was not satisfied with Kobe’s offer and was even making demands of a Mercedes SUV, a house as well as $5 million.
Vanessa also filed a 43-page dismissal motion filed in Orange County Superior Court against her mother’s lawsuit, terming it “factually, legally and morally deficient.”
