This post is part of a series on celebrity spokespeople who ended up doing serious harm to the brands they were hired to promote, or vice versa. See how we rank the 20 top spokesperson fiascos.
Basketball star Kobe Bryant may be this generation's Michael Jordon, a combination of lightning-quick moves, shooting touch and court savvy unmatched by any backcourt player in the world. As leader of the Los Angeles Lakers, he has become a fixture on the scoring leader stats sheet and the All-star roster.
Raised in Italy while his American father Joe "Jellybean" Bryant played basketball there, Bryant was a polished and appealing personality when he entered the NBA straight out of high school. His popularity quickly translated into lucrative endorsement contracts with Nike (NYSE:NKE), Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) and McDonald's (NYSE:MCD).
Therefore, the sports world was stunned when a Colorado hotel maid accused the married Bryant of sexually assaulting her. The resulting tawdry court case made Bryant the laughingstock of the league's fandom. Although the case was eventually settled out of court with Bryant's public apology, the damage had been done. McDonald's declined to renew its agreement with Bryant, having had one unhappy meal too many.
Since then, Bryant has mended his marriage, grown in his career (MVP in 2008), and regained endorsement contracts. I doubt, though, that you'll ever seen Kobe and Ronald McDonald share the court again.
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