ESPN seems to have retaliated in a big way when they released an article that claims Kobe is the reason for the Lakers' downfall and that the Black Mamba is like a cancer that is 'killing the franchise from within.'

The Sports media is nowhere near objective reporting. After the scores are mentioned, the opinions, analysis and breakdowns are out. ESPN is no stranger to that, and it cannot be manifested more than in their Annual NBA Player Rankings feature.

Kobe Bryant was ranked at no. 40 overall. He was not happy about it. In a video interview, Bryant was asked if the low ESPN ranking will motivate him. His quick reply (transcribed by USA Today):

"I've known for a long time they're a bunch of idiots.... I tend to use things as motivation that tend to be in the realm of reality."

Strong words, and a day later, ESPN put up an article by Henry Abbott, one of their True Hoop bloggers entitled: "Is Kobe Bryant the reason for the Los Angeles Lakers' Downfall" which contained some of these choice quotes:

"'It's horrendous. It's evil. It's a hard drug to quit when you're winning'says a front office executive from a rival team who knows everyone involved well. 'Kobe has cost the Lakers dearly in human capital. Kobe has hurt a lot of people. In some cases jeopardized careers.'"

"'The problem is, he's just not as good as he thinks he is,' says one source in the Lakers' inner circle. 'He's just not as efficient as he thinks he is. If he had the other intangibles, like LeBron, or if he was any kind of different person, it would have been easy for us to attract talent, retain it and win.'"

"'He wants to win," says a source close to the Lakers decision makers. 'But only as long as he's the reason we're winning, as long as the performance is not affecting his numbers. No one works harder than Kobe. And no one sabotages his own efforts more. He's scaring off the free agents we're trying to get. We're trying to surround you with talent and your ego is getting in the way.'"

How will Kobe react to these strong accusations? Is he really a cancer to his team? What do you think?