In Midst of Lockout, Italian Team Reaches Out to Kobe

(NewsCore) - Italian basketball team Virtus Bologna has taken its bid for NBA superstar Kobe Bryant to a higher authority by reaching out to US President Barack Obama.

In a letter to the president -- published Thursday on the team's official website -- Virtus owner Claudio Sabatini referenced the famed Martin Luther King Jr. "Dream Speech" as he made his pitch to the commander in chief.

"Dear Mr. President, We have a dream: to see Kobe Bryant playing for our Team Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, the Italian town well known in the world as basket City," read Sabatini's letter.

"According to your wishes we hope that the [NBA] lockout will shortly stop but in the meanwhile let us have the chance to see at least for one game the great Kobe Bryant playing with our black and white jersey and be part of our history."

A statement on the Italian club's website said the team would have preferred to keep the letter to Obama "confidential and private," but decided to publish it "in order to avoid misunderstanding."

It remained unclear whether Obama would take time away from his busy schedule to help outsource one of the NBA's biggest stars in the midst of the league's ongoing labor dispute, but Sabatini was clearly exhausting all efforts to get the five-time NBA champion on the Italian hardwood.

Sabatini has reportedly offered Bryant as much as $1 to $2 million to play in a single game for his club, with the owner saying the game -- to be played in October -- would be a "Tribute to Kobe."