Poor timing

Deal to market Bryant's high school jersey sidelined by angry parents

ARDMORE, Pa. (AP) -- Responding to angry parents and alumni, the Lower Merion School District said Tuesday that a deal with Nike for rights to market Kobe Bryant's high school basketball jersey would be delayed for months, and perhaps scuttled.

Jury selection in Bryant's rape case was under way Friday in Eagle, Colo., with opening arguments set for Sept. 7. Bryant, 26, has pleaded innocent to the charges, which stem from a June 2003 encounter with a 19-year-old employee at a Colorado resort.

"Kobe Bryant is accused of raping a young girl," wrote Sharon Carbine, a 1968 alumna, in an e-mail to district officials and the media. "Tell Nike to take a hike and apologize to all Lower Merion High School graduates and our local community for considering ruining Lower Merion High School's good name."

Lower Merion officials said the contract will be referred to a policy committee of the school board as part of a discussion on how to manage deals with corporations. The work is likely to take months.

"Negotiations are in a sort of suspended animation," Board President Larry Rosenwald said. "Depending upon the policy we develop, we'll see at that point where Nike is.

"We're sensitive to the community input we're received, and now may not be the right time to embark on this particular contract. We still have the greatest respect as a community for Kobe Bryant."

The proposed Nike product line would feature replica or "throwback" versions of the plain, maroon-and-white, No. 33 jersey Bryant wore when he played for the Lower Merion High School "Aces," as well as T-shirts, headgear and jackets. They were supposed to hit store shelves by Christmas.

The district would receive about $100,000 over five years from a 7 percent royalty on net sales of the product line.

The contract contains an opt-out clause should Nike or the district "become concerned with the status of the criminal action against Kobe Bryant."

If convicted, Bryant faces four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation, and a fine up to $750,000.

Lower Merion graduate Jim Wiggins, 86, who is planning a class reunion, said he walked to the high school Monday to make sure the district heard his opinion.

"I don't think it should be done," Wiggins said. "Lower Merion's reputation is at stake when something like this comes along."