Bryant's Ownership In Italy Short Lived
Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant has dropped out as owner of the Olimpia Milano basketball team, only 10 months after he and his father had purchased a 50 percent stake in the team.
The board of directors of the team, which has won a record 25 Italian league titles, cleared the way over the weekend for a group of Milan businessmen to take over financial control of the team, Olimpia spokesman Manrico Tirocchi said Wednesday.
"The Bryants are no longer a part of Olimpia Milano," Tirocchi said of Joe Bryant, a former star forward in the Italian league, and his son, Kobe, who helped the Lakers win last season's NBA title.
The Rome-based Corriere dello Sport newspaper reported that the new controlling group might include the Milan-based Versace fashion house.
The Bryants and another 50 percent stakeholder, Pasquale Caputo, had been looking to unload their interests in the team because of a dispute over the day-to-day control of the team.
Kobe Bryant had wanted to buy a stake in the team to continue his connection with Italy, where he lived as a child while his father played in the Italian league.
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