Kobe Bryant Mural Removed In Indianapolis After Criticism From Public

In the aftermath of Kobe Bryant’s death, street artists around the world have paid tribute to the Laker legend and his daughter GiGi with some incredible murals. Among them, a colorful tribute in Los Angeles, a massive black and white piece at the Tenement basketball court in Manila, Philippines, and a mesmerizing display done with Dry Erase markers. However, not all murals are created equal.

According to Black Indy Live, the questionable piece of artwork shown in the tweet embedded above was displayed on the wall of a gas station in Indianapolis. The image was quickly declared to be more of an eye sore than a touching tribute to Bryant, and was ultimately removed due to all of the backlash from the community. While many were happy to see the smirking Kobe with his fierce armpit hair removed from the wall, there were some others who didn’t think it was right to simply paint over another’s tribute. 

For instance, local hip-hop artist Antonio Maxie posted the following message on facebook:

“It’s always [people] that can’t do some s**t that’s critiquing others’ work!! STFU!! Y’all can’t even draw not along do grafitti. The Kobe wall definitely ain’t the coldest but damn at least they tried!! [People] will kill your spirit if you let [them]!! Hey, but this is social media ain’t it…”

Check out some of the more tasteful murals below.