Kobe Bryant's Sudden Ability to Appear Human Is The Real Reason He Needs To Retire

The Players' Tribune-

Dear Basketball,

From the moment
I started rolling my dad’s tube socks
And shooting imaginary
Game-winning shots
In the Great Western Forum
I knew one thing was real:

I fell in love with you.

A love so deep I gave you my all --
From my mind & body
To my spirit & soul.

As a six-year-old boy
Deeply in love with you
I never saw the end of the tunnel.
I only saw myself
Running out of one. 

And so I ran.
I ran up and down every court
After every loose ball for you.
You asked for my hustle
I gave you my heart
Because it came with so much more.

I played through the sweat and hurt
Not because challenge called me
But because YOU called me.
I did everything for YOU
Because that’s what you do
When someone makes you feel as
Alive as you’ve made me feel.

You gave a six-year-old boy his Laker dream
And I’ll always love you for it.
But I can’t love you obsessively for much longer.

This season is all I have left to give.
My heart can take the pounding
My mind can handle the grind
But my body knows it’s time to say goodbye.

And that’s OK.
I’m ready to let you go.
I want you to know now
So we both can savor every moment we have left together.
The good and the bad.
We have given each other
All that we have. 

And we both know, no matter what I do next
I’ll always be that kid
With the rolled up socks
Garbage can in the corner
:05 seconds on the clock
Ball in my hands.

5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1

​Love you always,
Kobe



Let's forget about on-court performance. Let's forget about the constant airballs, that are equally as sad as they are humorous. Let's forget that Kobe Bryant can barely get through back to back games, despite his youthful appearance, without looking every last bit of his age. Obviously you can look to Kobe Bryant's ineffectiveness on the court is a major reason that he needs to retire. However, it's his off the court demeanor that I find the most telling. Saying that he's playing like shit and laughing about it? Being personable, honest, and funny? This isn't the Kobe Bryant we all grew to love, or grew to love to hate. That Kobe would never let a bad performance, or two, or ten sway his overly competitive spirit. That Kobe would never, ever take comfort in a defeatist attitude. While it's been semi-refreshing to see Kobe Bryant converse with the media like a rational human being this year, it's also been kind of sobering watching someone that we have all had strong feelings about lose what made him such a polarizing figure. You can no longer criticize Kobe Bryant, because he's essentially admitted that he's deserving of criticism. Those laughs and jokes that people were enjoying at his expense are now a thing of the past, because let's face it, the last 66 games of his career aren't enough time to bestow upon him every compliment he is deserving of. He's no longer the guy that's playing too long and ruining his legacy (even though I think that narrative is ridiculously overhyped anyway), but he's the guy biding farewell to the game of which he was such an integral part. He should be commended for realizing his tank is on empty and committing himself to helping the Lakers youth, but the weirdest part, to me anyway, isn't thinking of him as something other than a basketball player, it's seeing him as a vulnerable personality.