Kobe and Gianna Bryant – Getty
*The University of Kentucky will be the first school to implement the Mamba Program.
Vanessa Bryant, wife of the late Kobe Bryant, hand-picked Kentucky as the first “Mamba Program” school in its partnership with Nike.
According to Hip Hop Wired, the program will have the Kentucky Wildcats “sporting Mamba-branded attire including apparel and sneakers such as the Kobe 11s, which will feature the UK branding on the insoles along with the Mamba logo on the tongue for the 2023/24 season,” the outlet writes.
Additionally, Bryant’s signature Sheath logo could be featured on uniforms in the next few years, similar to Jordan Brand’s Jumpman logo.
“This is the first partnership with any university,” said Kat Conlon, executive director of the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation,” Lakers Nation reports. “Coach Calipari and Kobe Bryant had a very special relationship, so anything we can do with the foundation that continues to tell the stories of Kobe and Gianna Bryant, we are all game for it with the foundation.”
I just received the most incredible gift from Vanessa and Natalia Bryant.
Happy 17th birthday, Gigi!!
Thinking today of Gigi and all of the lives she touched and continues to touch!!#PlayGigisWay pic.twitter.com/mruCZIFaop
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) May 1, 2023
Vanessa Bryant announced last year that she would donate the $16 million awarded to her from her lawsuit against Los Angeles County to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation.
We reported previously, via CNN, that a federal jury awarded $31 million in damages after finding the Los Angeles County Sheriff and Fire Departments liable for infringing on the constitutional rights of Vanessa Bryant and co-plaintiff Christopher Chester, who each lost a spouse and daughter in the helicopter crash in January 2020.
Bryant was awarded $16 million in damages and Chris Chester was awarded $15 million.
Bryant’s lawyer said at the time that Kobe’s widow would donate the multi-million award to the nonprofit dedicated to honoring the legacies of Kobe and her daughter Gianna, The Los Angeles Times reported.
READ MORE: Vanessa Bryant to Donate Proceeds from Crash Photos to Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation
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