Kobe Bryant recently spoke with several Los Angeles high school students at the "We Rise LA" event, where he was asked to speak on Kanye West's comment about slavery being a choice. Like most everyone else, Kobe says his initial reaction was, "What the hell are you talking about?"
The 5x NBA champion went on to speak about the value of free speech but added that Kanye has to accept the criticism he receives as well because everybody is free to speak how they feel. Bryant also made it clear, again, that he "completely disagrees" with Kanye's overall opinion.
"The thing about our country is that you have the right to say whatever it is that you want to say ... that's the beautiful part about living in a democracy."
He added, "Conversely, you also have to take the responses that come after that as well because everybody has the freedom to say what it is that they feel."
"For him, he's one of these entertainers that's always in a constant state of growth ... he's always challenging not us as people but really himself. He's doing a lot of questioning internally himself."
"I just take it for what it is and completely disagree."
Check out the footage of Kobe's comments in the video embedded below.