President Obama Asked to Aid in Getting Kobe Bryant to Italy

With each passing day the likelihood of Kobe Bryant playing for Virtus Bologna seems as likely as the NBA lockout ending in a timely manner. While I can appreciate Virtus Bologna’s owner Claudio Sabatini doing whatever it takes to secure the services of the best baller on the planet, his approach is becoming increasingly desperate. We’re talking Terrell Owens, reality TV, desperate here.

First Sabatini begged the Italian league to shift its schedule to match the dates Bryant was to ball in Italy. When that didn’t fly he backed off and has since taken the approach of going with a “Kobe Night”. Mind you that one night of hoops magic is reported to come with a $2-million price tag. Robert Redford thinks that proposal is indecent.

When throwing cash at the problem didn’t work, Sabatini turned to the most desperate plea of all – he’s asked U.S. President Barack Obama to help in getting Bryant to Europe.

Now, there are plenty of reasons why this is among the most absurd NBA occurrences that doesn’t involved Gilbert Arenas or Metta World Peace.

To assume President Obama cares enough about the issue is obviously ridiculous. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. For a man that is facing the daily dilemma of creating more jobs in his own country how is it going to look for Obama to help a millionaire make more millions overseas?

Sabatini gets credit for exhausting all possibilities but this is one move that is as dumbfounding as it is desperate.