What's $75,000 to Kobe Bryant? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The guy is set to make north of $27 million next season—more than any other player in the NBA—so he's probably got $75K in his couch cushions at home. Still, we're a little surprised to see him back down from a fight, which is exactly what he just did to settle a $75,000 lawsuit that a Grizzlies fan brought up against him back in 2005.
The lawsuit stems from an incident in '05 that involved KB24 jumping into the stands during a game in Memphis and accidentally throwing his forearm into the chest of a Grizzlies fan named Bill Geeslin, who was sitting courtside. It was seemingly harmless enough, the result of Kobe hustling hard like he so often does. But, after it happened, Geeslin claimed that Bryant bruised his lung during the play and that he did it on purpose—so he decided to sue him for $75,000. And, after Geeslin died back in 2008, his estate continued to pursue the case.
The lawsuit died once after a federal court found it to be too frivolous. But, sure enough, it got resuscitated in an appeals court, started working its way through the lower courts and, well, at some point Kobe thought, "What's 75 grand to a mothafucka like me?!" So, he just agreed to settle the case out of court in order to stop it from proceeding any further.
Sucks for Kobe. But, it makes us wonder whether or not Marc Gasol might have a case to make after another incident that took place in Memphis earlier this year. What gives, M-Town?
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[via Eye On Basketball]
