Speaking for the first time since his arrest for sexual assault, Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant told Sunday's Los Angeles Times that he was innocent, saying "I would never do something like that."
"When everything comes clean, it will all be fine, you'll see," Bryant told the newspaper in what it described as a brief telephone interview.
Bryant, 24, declined to discuss details of the case, in which a 19-year-old woman who works as a concierge at a posh resort in Edwards, Colorado, has accused him of sexually assaulting her, the newspaper said.
Bryant surrendered to Colorado police on July 4 on a felony arrest warrant issued by a judge. The case has been sealed by the court so few details of the alleged attack are known.
Prosecutors are expected to decide whether to bring charges this week against Bryant, a five-time NBA all-star and one of the most popular American athletes with corporate advertisers.
"But you guys know me, I shouldn't have to say anything," Bryant told the newspaper. "You know I would never do anything like that."
Bryant, the Lakers leading scorer, was in Colorado for surgery on his knee at the prestigious Steadman Hawkins Clinic. The alleged assault occurred at The Lodge and Spa at Cordillera on June 30.
The Colorado state crime laboratory has been analyzing unspecified evidence in the case. The Los Angeles Times said Bryant went to the Valley View Hospital in Glenwood Springs, Colorado to deliver a DNA sample to authorities on July 1.
He flew back to Los Angeles later that day but then returned to Colorado on July 4 to turn himself in on an arrest warrant issued by a district judge. He posted a $25,000 bond and was released.
Bryant sounded surprised at some of the rumors circulating about what happened on June 30 without elaborating, the newspaper said.
"Man there's a lot of crazy stories out there," he said.