Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant has been issued a ticket for talking on his mobile phone while driving on the stretch of 405 freeway in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

According to reports, Kobe Bryant was behind the wheels of his bright red $300,000 Ferrari when he was spotted talking on his mobile phone in Los Angeles — a major no-no in the state of California. Good thing that he was not seen by the California Highway Patrol, because a talking-while-driving ticket usually runs around $159 for the first offense, and $279 for subsequent violations.

Right after the hands-free law was passed in the state of California, a law banning texting while driving came into effect in 2009. According to a UC Berkeley study, deaths associated with drivers talking on their mobile phones while driving have been down by 47 percent.

Kobe Bryant, who plays shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), enjoyed a successful high school basketball career at Lower Merion High School, where he was recognized as the top high school basketball player in the country. He declared his eligibility for the NBA Draft upon graduation, and was chosen with the 13th overall pick during the 1996 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets, then was subsequently traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. As a rookie, Kobe Bryant earned himself a reputation as a high-flyer and a fan favorite by winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest.

The rape case of NBA star Kobe Bryant may be old news, but apparently it still weighs heavily on his mind. But, the basketball player says that it has helped him become a “better person.”

According to reports,  33-year-old Bryant had a recent interview with sports interview guru, Graham Bensinger, where he admitted that he considered the legal proceedings of his rape case as a “dark time,” though they changed him ultimately and helped him grow as a person.

As previous reports have stated, Kobe Bryant was charged with sexual assault of one hotel employee in Eagle, Colorado, back in 2003. Although the NBA star admitted that he had a marital infidelity during the media and legal battle that followed his rape case, he denied accusations of secually assaulting the employee in question. The charges in his rape case were ultimately dismissed without a full-blown trial, but the effect on the public image of Kobe Bryant was so severe that he has not really fully recovered nearly ten years after the incident.

The basketball player seldom talks about the rape case anymore, but he recently opened up about it during an interview with Graham Bensinger. Kobe Bryant revealed in detail some of his feelings about the whole ordeal.

“The challenge is who you are as a person, not only individually but as a family….” Bryant said. “There’s times where it just seems like days are just endless, like this is never going to end. This feeling, this dark time is just never going to be over. Once you go through something like that, you can’t help but be different. You can’t help but have a better sense of who you are.”

As to what he took away from the incident, Kobe Bryant said:

“As a person it just really teaches you how to let go and how to trust and not try to control everything. And that decreases your stress level ten-fold.”

Although there have been some calls to get the NBA star off-court after the rape case, his dedication to basketball was unwavering. It was even the only thing that got him through the years following the scandal.

“I’m not going to stop playing,” Kobe said. “I’m not just because you guys think I should stop playing, just because you guys think that I won’t perform as well. I’m going to show you. Truthfully, it was stress release for me.”

Kobe Bryant ultimately settled with the hotel employee who accused him and maintained his innocence regarding the rape case. However, Bryant did admit that he cheated on his wife, Vanessa. The basketball player subsequently apologized to his wife publicly, then bought her $4 million worth of jewelry. The couple reconciled up to 2011, then Vanessa filed for divorce.

Aside from this rape case, Kobe Bryant also discussed about his relationships with Phil Jackson, Shaquille O’Neal, as well as his thoughts on retirement.

You can watch the full 22-minute interview of Kobe Bryant here.