Zii Jia family feud: Lee's idol Kobe among stars who faced domestic disputes

The recent family feud involving Lee Zii Jia and his family members over control of major decisions and crucially, finances, surrounding his career draws a stark contrast between family support and interference.

While the LZJ Management case continues to drag on with the next hearing set in November, a high-profile athlete vs their family feud like this is not out of the ordinary.

Stadium Astro looks at some previous cases involving several high-profile athletes and their actions against family members who disrupted their career.

Kobe Bryant

Lee looks up to this late American basketball legend as his idol, and may even share some resemblance in relation to a family dispute over control of property.

Back in 2013, Bryant’s parents attempted to sell off some of the former NBA star’s memorabilia from his high school which included uniforms and two rings in an auction.

Bryant caught wind of his mom’s actions and sent a legal letter to stop the sale, claiming they had no legal right to sell his property.

Both Bryant and his parents eventually settled this dispute out of court, with the star’s parents later released a public statement apologizing for their actions.

Emmanuel Adebayor

In the case of the former Arsenal and Manchester City forward, Adebayor suffered immense exploitation at the hands of his family members.

Back in 2015, the former Togo international revealed publicly how his family had kept asking him for money, and how he was told to build each of them a house and give them a monthly wage.

Adebayor also claimed he was prevented from seeing his older brother who was ill at that time, and he even claimed his family sent a letter to his loan club Real Madrid and stating they shouldn’t keep him anymore.

In an honest interview with the BBC back in 2017, the footballer said he stopped talking to his family.

Carlos Yulo

Yulo is a Philippines gymnast who won two gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

But trouble began brewing within his household after Yulo claimed his mother started draining his bank account, and also stated she never received his prize money that she collected on his behalf.

Yulo’s mom eventually apologized for her actions, but their feud remained a much-talked about affair in the months after the gymnast’s historic feat for his country.