Vanessa and Kobe Bryant's marriage led to scrutiny not only from the press, but also from the Bryant family, who did not approve. In 2003, the Orlando Sentinel reported that Kobe's parents didn't even attend their wedding. When Kobe's high school retired his number, Vanessa and Kobe's parents sat in separate sections of the bleachers. Kobe admitted that his father, Joe, was uncomfortable that Kobe married a Latina woman rather than an African American. The relationship between Kobe and Vanessa and the elder Bryants remained rocky for the rest of Kobe's life, although Joe reportedly doted on his granddaughters.
In 2013, Kobe's parents tried to auction off some of his high school memorabilia and they stopped talking for a few years. "Our relationship is s***," Kobe told ESPN in 2016.
At the time of his death, though, things seemed to be getting better between Kobe and his dad. Wayne Slappy, a friend of the family, told the Daily Mail that they had recently seen each other at a basketball camp in Santa Barbara. "I just remember being with him up at his camp in Santa Barbara, and seeing him hug his dad," said Slappy. "You know how they loved each other from how they looked at each other, how they smiled,' he said. "Everybody's family has issues, disagreements here and there. The healing comes, but this healing is going to be hard because he's not here."
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