In an interview set to air Wednesday on "Jim Rome on Showtime," Kobe Bryant said he would have "smacked the hell" out of ex-Rutgers coach Mike Rice if he put his hands on Bryant or threw balls his way.

"I would have smacked the hell out of him," Bryant told Rome. "No question about it. It probably wouldn't have been the best way to react to it but that's how I would have reacted to it."

ESPN's "Outside the Lines" showed the videos that feature Rice physically putting his hands on his players, using homophobic slurs toward them and throwing balls at them, sometimes even toward their heads. He was originally suspended and fined $50,000 in December, but ultimately was fired last week after the videos were nationally broadcasted.

Bryant admitted that he wasn't sure to exactly why the Rutgers players wouldn't stand up to Rice.

"Everybody was trying to do the right thing by holding your tongue and not saying anything," Bryant said. "That's abusive. You can't take that form of abuse."

Bryant came into the NBA at 18-years-old, skipping college to go straight to the pros. He was drafted to the L.A. Lakers who also had Shaquel O'Neal. Those two didn't get along, but yet were able to win three NBA championships together.

Rome asked Bryant if he would have went to college as an 18-year-old freshman, would he have stood up to Rice. He said, "No question. You think I'm going to let a coach throw a ball at my head? A year later I was going at it with Shaq."

The five-time NBA champion said he would only let his mother put his hands on him. He said the occasional belt-whipping was all he would ever take from anybody.