Kobe

Kobe Bryant was born on August 23rd 1978 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Kobe learned the fundamentals of basketball in Italy when he was just a boy and chose to concentrate solely on basketball when he had his growth spurt at around 11 years old. He dreamt of going straight to the NBA from high school and continued to improve his skills from 11 to age 13 when he knew he could play anyone. By the time he was 14 he was beating his former NBA dad one-on-one and knew that basketball was the sport for him. In the summer of 2003 Bryant reached a peak of media frenzy but this time relating to allegations off the Basketball court rather than successes on it. A young woman called Katelyn Faber, an employee at a hotel where Bryant had stayed, filed a sexual assault claim against the Lakers star, in which she accused Bryant of raping her. Investigation continued into the 2003 - 2004 NBA season before Katelyn Faber withdrew her support for the criminal prosecution. Speculation at the time and since has suggested that this was due to the fear of her personal life been publicly examined. As part of this withdrawal Kobe released a statement in which he said that he believed their encounter to be consensual but that that Faber "did not and does not view this incident the same way that I did." He later settled a civil law suit with her. He has gone through all of these problems and attacks but still manages to be the best basketball player in the world.