NBA superstar Kobe Bryant is featured in the latest issue of the New Yorker in which he talked about a variety of topics ranging from his long and fruitful career with the Los Angeles Lakers to the Trayvon Martin case.

Bryant has been the subject of scrutiny for his comments regarding the race issue in the Martin case as it has struck a chord among the African-American community that have since called for a boycott on Bryant sports products, Fox News reported.

In the interview, Bryant answered a question about what his opinion was on the Miami Heat's public support for the Martin family in the wake of the 17-year-old African American's death in early 2012; an incident that sparked a racial debate throughout the nation.

Martin was shot dead the night of Feb. 26, 2012 near his Sanford, Fla. home by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman. The court case received nation wide media attention, which came to a close late last summer when Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder.

Bryant told the New Yorker that in a time when society should be advancing itself beyond racial divides, it didn't make sense for the African-American community to jump to the Martin family's defense just because he was an African-American.

"I won't react to something just because I'm supposed to, because I'm an African-American. That argument doesn't make any sense to me," Bryant said. "So we want to advance as a society and a culture, but, say, if something happens to an African-American we immediately come to his defense? Yet you want to talk about how far we've progressed as a society? Well, we've progressed as a society, then don't jump to somebody's defense just because they're African-American. You sit and you listen to the facts just like you would in any other situation, right? So I won't assert myself."

The Lakers point-guard and five-time NBA champion spent a considerable amount of his childhood in Italy while his father, Joe "Jellybean" Bryant played basketball for a number of the nation's pro teams.

Although Bryant never took an official stance on the trial, many critics, including Hall of Fame NFL running back Jim Brown, slammed the future hall of famer for his candid remarks. Brown told the article's author that Bryant is out of touch with his African-American roots because of his time spent away from the U.S.

"(Kobe) is somewhat confused about culture, because he was brought up in another country," Brown said.

Najee Ali, a self-described civil rights activist and Project Islamic H.O.P.E. director, called for boycott Thursday of all Bryant-related products, according to Fox News.

"African American youth should no longer buy Bryant's jerseys or shoes and should boycott all products he endorses," Ali said in a statement. "Bryant doesn't identify with the struggle that our African-American youth face nationally. So why should we continue to support Bryant who has never truly identified with the African American experience."

The 35-year-old NBA All Star tweeted hours later a message of support for Martin.

"Travon Martin was wronged THAT'S my opinion and that's what I believe the FACTS showed. The system did not work #myopinion #tweetURthoughts."