Picture Credit: Instagram
Nike gifted Vanessa Bryant a ‘Tough Sh*t’ hoodie after her speech at the Kobe Bryant statue unveiling went viral. Los Angeles Lakers honored late legend Bryant by installing his bronze statue at Crypto Arena earlier this week. During the ceremony, Vanessa revealed that the pose of the statue was chosen by Kobe himself. Not only this, but Vanessa also announced that the Lakers icon will have a total of three statues at the Cryto.com Arena, two of which will be unveiled later.
Out of those two statues, one will feature Kobe and Vanessa’s daughter Gigi Bryant, who also died in the helicopter crash in 2020. The other statue will be dedicated to Bryant’s accomplishments with the Lakers with him wearing the number 24 jersey. During the emotional ceremony, a line from Vanessa’s speech went viral, where she said, "For the record, Kobe picked the pose you’re about to see. If anyone has any issues with it, tough s***. It is what it is."
The speech went viral in no time, and it caught the attention of several fans and brands across the globe, and Nike was one of them. Nike gifted a ‘Tough Shit’ hoodie to Vanessa, which she posted on her Instagram. The American model posted a snippet of her speech from the statue unveiling ceremony, along with the hoodie’s picture. She posted a yellow and purple heart in the caption.
Vanessa’s viral speech from Kobe Bryant statue unveiling ceremony
During the ceremony, Vanessa delivered a powerful and emotional speech. She said, “As I see today’s current generation of star players follow in Kobe’s footsteps with huge scoring games, I know he would take pride in knowing that he is still pouring inspiration into the game that was so special to him.” She added, "For the record, Kobe picked the pose you’re about to see. If anyone has any issues with it, tough s***. It is what it is." Vanessa ended her speech by saying, “I leave you with one of my husband’s amazing quotes. ‘Leave the game better than you found it and when it comes time for you to leave, leave a legend.’ And that he did.”
