After more than two years of keeping its multimillion-dollar endorsement deal with scandal-plagued NBA superstar Kobe Bryant virtually under wraps, the shoemaker is preparing to trumpet the
controversial player as a celebrity endorser. Bryant had faced criminal and civil allegations of sexual assault, but those cases have now been settled. While his legal struggles raged, Bryant
disappeared from the celebrity endorsement scene as marketers ran from the scandal. Nike kept him under contract but kept its distance. Now the marketer is slowly reintroducing him as an endorser for
a new shoe tentatively dubbed the Zoom Kobe I. It will debut at retail chains like Foot Locker in New York in February, along with a line of athletic apparel. However, experts say it remains to be
seen if the buying public will once again embrace Bryant as a credible product endorser.
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