Vanessa Bryant Slams Nike For Leaked 'Mambacita' Shoe Honoring Daughter

It's about to get real ugly if Nike went ahead and started producing and releasing the shoes Vanessa Bryant had designed in memory of her daughter Gianna, who was killed in a helicopter crash, without the mother's consent. Good luck to the person at Nike who has to call Vanessa to iron out this one.

"This is a shoe I worked on in honor of my daughter, Gianna. It was going to be called the MAMBACITA shoe as an exclusive black and white colorway on her daddy's shoes," Bryant wrote on Instagram Thursday.

Yes, the shoes were being created to serve as a foundation benefit shoe, but that plan was scrapped when Vanessa didn't re-sign Kobe's contract with Nike.

"I do not know how someone else has their hands on the shoes I designed for my daughter, Gigi and we don't. I hope these shoes do not get sold," Vanessa added.

"Sneaker sleuth" Brandon1an posted photos of the shoes in May and declared they were "dropping summer 2021." He has since released a statement saying "I just want to make it clear that I don't own a pair of those Mambacita Kobes. The pictures I posted are official product pictures from a Nike authorized retailer."

It appears Nike was ready to release those shoes. Now, who was going to profit off of them?