Kobe’s dad says son will ‘get through’ assault case

Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2003 | 9:55 a.m.

SUN WIRE REPORTS

Kobe Bryant's father spoke out about his son's assault case Tuesday, saying the NBA star is an intelligent man who will "get through" charges he assaulted a 19-year-old Colorado woman.

"He's a special young man, I mean, he's very worldly, very intelligent, and I think he'll get through all this," Joe "Jellybean" Bryant told KCAL-TV.

Bryant, coach of the Las Vegas Rattlers of the American Basketball Association, spoke to the television station before a game at Long Beach, Calif.

Bryant also discounted media reports saying he and his son were estranged because he did not approve of his son's marriage.

"She's a lovely young lady and we're very happy (for her) to be our daughter," he said of his son's wife, Vanessa.

Bryant, 25, is charged with attacking a woman last June at a Colorado resort where she worked. He has said the two had consensual sex.

Bryant's status for Friday's home game in Los Angeles against Denver is cloudy at best. He is due in an Eagle, Colo., courtroom that morning for a hearing that could last from a couple of hours to all day.

Assuming he can make it back to L.A, in time -- and navigate his way from LAX to Staples Center -- Bryant plans to play.

"We have no idea whether he's going to be back in time for the game or not," Lakers spokesman John Black said.

Bryant's father, a former NBA player himself, said he and his son talk every day and that he continues to give his son fatherly advice.

"I wouldn't be doing my job if I wasn't Daddy," he said, smiling.