In a video, SB Nation’s “Dan On Fire” accused Kobe Bryant of faking his ruptured Achilles injury. He cited reasons like Kobe living in Italy, Dr. Klapper doing consulting on TV shows, and Klapper getting his medical degree from Columbia as reasons Kobe’s Achilles injury was fake.
“Kobe Bryant spent his formative years in another country,” said Dan in the three minute video. “He grew up playing basketball in Italy, playing soccer in Italy. If we’ve learned anything about athletes most known for personal injury gain — the Italians. They are a master class, master actors of showing what it means to seem injured for personal gain.”
All of this, however, should be taken with a grain of salt. This video is a part of an SB Nation series called “Troll Tuesday” where they take a sports story and put a spin on it to piss off fans. Last week, SB Nation’s Andrew Sharp wrote a piece about how Derrick Rose owes us an apology.
We’re not going to have to worry about some outrageous scandal about Kobe faking his injury for some personal gain, nor will we have to worry about the merits of Dr. Klapper — who is widely regarded as one of the best at what he does.
Besides, Kobe Instagramed a gruesome photo of his Achilles surgery (the image is included below, it’s graphic, you’ve been warned). If there was going to be anything faked, I highly doubt Kobe would go that far. But to be fair, Kobe has always been one of those guys to go above and beyond to exceed expectations.
Let’s just hope Kobe’s rehab is as quick as it took that guy Dan On Fire to accuse Kobe of faking his injury. We all know he’s going to be needed next season.
