Stolen Kobe Bryant high school jersey finally gets returned after two years
A Kobe Bryant high school jersey has finally been returned after it was stolen more than two years ago. The jersey, which was stolen from Lower Merion High School in 2017, was returned after a prominent Bryant memorabilia collector realized he purchased the item, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
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Liu Zhe, a 28-year-old collector in China, wound up with the item after he was contacted by an online seller. He paid about $2,000 for the jersey.
Upon receiving it, however, Liu began to wonder if the item he purchased was the same jersey that was stolen from Bryant’s high school in 2017. Liu was going to return the jersey to Bryant in person, but decided to send it back to the school after communicating with a representative from Lower Merion High School on Instagram.
What did Liu want in return for sending the jersey back to its rightful home? Absolutely nothing, according to McMenamin.
“He asked for no compensation in return — other than hoping that Bryant would be alerted that the jersey had been recovered.”
Lower Merion High School received the jersey, and immediately attempted to determine its authenticity. After doing some research, the school believes the jersey is the real deal.
Police are still looking for the two thieves who originally stole the jersey. They also stole other Bryant memorabilia, including a trophy, a Bryant plaque, a number of game programs and some sneakers. Liu worked with law enforcement to give officers information about the person who sold him Bryant’s stolen jersey.
Tracking down all those items after two years might prove difficult, but as Liu showed, it only takes one good samaritan to be the difference. Maybe his kind act will be what propels others to come forward.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
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