APDeion Sanders has never been afraid to speak out, even if it's not about his sport, and he's taken aim at Kobe Bryant for "breaking every rule you could think of" as a player.
Over the weekend, Kobe made statements that Karl Malone made a pass at his wife, Vanessa, and that was at the root of the recent Malone-Bryant rift that included Malone saying he would never play with the Lakers as long as Kobe was there.
But by taking this private spat public, Bryant really crossed the line, Sanders said.
"Kobe has broken all rules in regards to players' camaraderie, their fraternity," Sanders said on Sporting News Radio's James Brown Show. "He has broken every rule you could think of. I don't even understand how someone could come in the locker room and look this guy in his face when you go out like that.
"Not only is your house not in order because of the situation that he went through with the infidelity last year, but now you're placing Karl Malone in a position where now his home is under subjection right now because of these allegations. It's unbelievable. I can't even believe they would even allow that to come out in the media to attack Karl like that."
The recent Malone-Bryant feud boiled over when Vanessa Bryant told her husband on Nov. 23 that Malone had made inappropriate comments to her that night at the game at Staples Center.
The comments in question reportedly happened after Vanessa invited Malone to sit with her in the second half of that game. Malone, decked out in a cowboy hat and boots, went over and gave Vanessa Bryant a hug.
"Who are you hunting?" Vanessa reportedly asked when she saw Malone's outfit.
"Little Mexican girls," Malone responded.
And when that comment was relayed to Kobe, he called Malone and reportedly vowed to "(mess) him up" if he ever went near his wife again.
"Karl is a proven veteran. He's an older gentleman. What does he want with your woman?" Sanders said. "I mean, come on, let's be honest. What does Karl want with your woman? Karl has a daughter as old as Kobe's wife. So, let's be honest, that was really ridiculous.
"You've got to understand, guys like myself inside locker rooms, we get so upset when we hear foolishness like that in something coming out of Kobe's mouth. We just can't condone it. He's broken every rule or ordinance you can think of as a player."
But Sanders also had some rants on the sport he does play, football, particularly on Giants' rookie quarterback Eli Manning after Sanders' Ravens destroyed the Giants on Sunday.
"It's just horrible over there, the atmosphere, and you could feel it on the field," Sanders said of the Giants, who haven't won a game since Manning was named the starter. "It translates to that. It was almost like you're playing against a team that couldn't wait until the season was over.
"It was so bad, that literally on a timeout, I went over and summoned him (Eli Manning) up when they removed him from the game. I said, 'Young fella, keep your head up, man. You're going to be a star in this game. Just keep your head up.' But I could see that it lifted his spirits up a bit because the game was just horrendous. I mean, the play-calling, the offense is so predictable; guys are getting battered every day; they're getting fined for wearing a hat to practice, you know."
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