Brian Bailey, the band director at Garfield High School in Los Angeles, California, caused a scene in class on Monday when he delivered an anti-Kobe Bryant rant— accusing the late basketball star of using his “money and his power” to get away with “rape” — only a day after Bryant died in a helicopter crash along with eight others, including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna.
“That guy raped a girl and got away with it, he raped her, his money and his power got away with raping a young lady,” said Bailey, in reference to a 2003 accusation, according to a recording of the rant reviewed by CBS News. “If it was any of you, you’d be in jail.”
In another portion of the rant, Bailey calls Bryant “selfish” for using a helicopter to take his daughter to a Sunday morning basketball game she was supposed to play in.
“Is there any reason in God’s green earth you need to take a helicopter from Orange County to Calabasas?” said Bailey. “It’s a 40-mile drive, and from the time it takes you to drive to the airport and drive to another airport and get in a car, that’s 40 minutes also. Anyone knows that flying in a helicopter is the most dangerous things in the world, and by being selfish and by not being able to wait, he killed his family, straight up.”
“I know it’s not a popular opinion and you have every right to be upset with me,” continues Bailey.
After school officials heard about the rant, which was published to Instagram by a 14-year-old student, the administration released a statement asking people to remain sensitive amidst the loss of one of the city’s greatest icons.
“We recently learned that negative comments about Kobe Bryant were made in a classroom … We also ask that everyone please be sensitive to others when discussing tragic events both inside and outside of the classroom,” read a statement, according to the news agency.
Unlike Bailey’s claims, Bryant actually wasn’t partial to helicopter travel for “selfish” reasons. As The Daily Wire previously reported, Bryant traveled by helicopter because it allowed him to spend less time in traffic and more time with his family.
“Traffic started getting really, really bad and I was sitting in traffic and I wound up missing like a school play, because I was sitting in traffic,” said Bryant in an episode of the Barstool Sports’ “The Corp,” reports HuffPost.
“I had to figure out a way where I could still train and focus on the craft but still not compromise family time,” continued Bryant. “So that’s when I looked into helicopters, to be able to get down and back in 15 minutes and that’s when it started.”
“You have like road trips and times where you don’t see your kids. So every chance I get to see them, to spend time with them — even if it’s 20 minutes in the car — I want that,” added the former Lakers star.