Kobe Bryant Umumkan Pensiun lewat Twitter dan Facebook

Kobe Bryant, pemain legendaris Los Angeles Lakers ini sudah bersiap untuk mengakhiri karir basketnya. Namun berbeda dengan tahun 90an di mana para atlet olahraga terbaik mengumumkan pensiun mereka melalui sebuah konferensi pers resmi di televisi yang cukup mengharukan, Bryant hanya menginformasikannya melalui akun media sosial.
Melalui akun Twitter resminya, Bryant yang pernah membintangi iklan smartphone Lenovo P780 mengumumkan rencana untuk pensiun setelah musim ini berakhir. Memang, ia tak secara langsung menuliskannya di Twitter, melainkan menyematkan sebuah link yang akan mengarahkan ke website theplayerstribune.com.
Dalam situs tersebut Bryant menuliskan semacam puisi dengan judul "Dear Basketball", seperti bisa Anda lihat petikannya di bawah ini. Hingga berita ini ditulis, tweet tersebut telah diretweet sebanyak lebih dari 84.000 kali dan lebih dari 68.000 likes.
Namun rupanya tak hanya melalui Twitter saja, karena Bryant pun memposting link tersebut di akun resmi Facebooknya yang saat ini sudah mencapai lebih dari 123.000 likes dan lebih dari 33.000 share.

Dear Basketball,
From the moment
I started rolling my dad’s tube socks
And shooting imaginary
Game-winning shots
In the Great Western Forum
I knew one thing was real:
I fell in love with you.
A love so deep I gave you my all —
From my mind & body
To my spirit & soul.
As a six-year-old boy
Deeply in love with you
I never saw the end of the tunnel.
I only saw myself
Running out of one.
And so I ran.
I ran up and down every court
After every loose ball for you.
You asked for my hustle
I gave you my heart
Because it came with so much more.
I played through the sweat and hurt
Not because challenge called me
But because YOU called me.
I did everything for YOU
Because that’s what you do
When someone makes you feel as
Alive as you’ve made me feel.
You gave a six-year-old boy his Laker dream
And I’ll always love you for it.
But I can’t love you obsessively for much longer.
This season is all I have left to give.
My heart can take the pounding
My mind can handle the grind
But my body knows it’s time to say goodbye.
And that’s OK.
I’m ready to let you go.
I want you to know now
So we both can savor every moment we have left together.
The good and the bad.
We have given each other
All that we have.
And we both know, no matter what I do next
I’ll always be that kid
With the rolled up socks
Garbage can in the corner
:05 seconds on the clock
Ball in my hands.
5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1
Love you always,
Kobe

Love you always,
Kobe