When Karl Malone reportedly harassed Kobe Bryant's wife Vanessa Bryant with comments about her descent: "I’m hunting for little Mexican girls"
Karl Malone was recently featured at the 2023 NBA All-Star Weekend, which was very controversial. The event took place in Salt Lake City, Utah, where Malone spent 18 seasons of his professional career, winning two MVP awards and many other accolades.
While Malone was a fantastic basketball player, his behavior off the court was unacceptable. Besides him impregnating a 13-year-old girl (while he was a 20-year-old college basketball player), Malone also harassed Vanessa Bryant, widow of the late Kobe Bryant.
The 6-foot-9 power forward spent the last season of his career playing for the LA Lakers alongside Bryant. Unfortunately, not even his last season went without controversy.
Karl Malone harassed Vanessa Bryant
In 2004, during Malone's sole season with the Lakers, the power forward wore a cowboy hat and boots at Staples Center, the home of the Lakers.
Vanessa Bryant saw the NBA veteran and asked him a question regarding his appearance:
“Hey, cowboy, what are you hunting?” Vanessa Bryant asked Malone.
However, his response was odd, considering that Bryant's wife was of Mexican descent.
“I’m hunting for little Mexican girls," Malone responded.
This was not the only incident involving Karl Malone and Vanessa Bryant. During the same season, the basketball star asked Kobe Bryant's wife if she liked him. Vanessa tried to ignore him, saying that he was old enough to be her father.
"Oh, like your daddy?" Malone said to Bryant.
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Later on, the former NBA player even offered to fight Kobe.
“I don’t want no trouble," Malone said regarding the incident with Bryants. "But if something’s got to go down, I’m not playing fair. [If] we’ve got to get down, then we’ve got to get down. I’m just telling you.’’
Considering that Malone impregnated a 13-year-old child shortly before he entered the NBA, these comments made him look even worse.
Even so, the league included the Utah Jazz legend at the 2023 All-Star Weekend. Malone was a judge in the Slam Dunk Contest and was also honored at halftime of the All-Star Game.
Malone's season with the Lakers
Karl Malone was a great basketball player, but he couldn't win the championship during his 19-year NBA career. He was very close to winning it all in 1997 and 1998, but was defeated by Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls both times.
The forward joined the Lakers in the 2003-04 season hoping to finally win a championship.
The two-time MVP had the worst season of his career in the City of Angels. He appeared in only 42 games, averaging a career-low 13.2 points per game.
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The Lakers advanced to the NBA Finals, but lost to the Detroit Pistons in five games. Malone had a horrible series against the Pistons, averaging only 5.0 points on 33.3% shooting. He scored 20 points in 125 minutes.