GARY CASKEY/EPA/Landov
Lawyers for both sides had no immediate comment on the report, which said a final settlement could be reached as early as the end of this week, according to Reuters and the Los Angeles Times. Last Friday, Bryant, 26, was due in Denver Federal District Court to give a deposition, but the session was canceled amid speculation that the case was near settlement.
"There almost certainly will be a confidentiality agreement," Colorado legal expert Craig Silverman tells the L.A. Times. "It would include sanctions if either side leaks details of the settlement."
Bryant's accuser worked as a concierge in a Colorado resort where Bryant stayed in June 2003. The married Bryant admitted having sex with her but called it consensual. She claimed, however, that she had been raped, which resulted in criminal charges against Bryant.
That case was dropped last September, however, when the woman said she would not testify and instead would institute a civil lawsuit against Bryant for damages.
The Lakers guard issued an apology to the woman, saying that while he believed the sex had been consensual, "I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did."
