HONOLULU (AP) – Kobe Bryant returned to the basketball court Saturday, admittedly out of shape and scared about what lies ahead for his family as his sexual assault case proceeds. Asked if he was scared about the case, in which he was charged with sexually assaulting a 19-year-old Colorado woman, he replied: “Terrified.”

“Not so much for myself, but just for what my family is going through,” Bryant said. “They had nothing to do with this, but just because their names have been dragged in the mud I’m scared for them.”

Bryant made his first public comments since July 18, when he fought back tears at a news conference in Los Angeles and said he was guilty only of adultery.

Bryant is charged with sexually assaulting a woman June 30 in his suite at a mountain resort where she worked. He has said the two had consensual sex. Free on $25,000 bond, Bryant is scheduled to appear Thursday in Eagle, Colo., for a preliminary hearing to determine whether he will stand trial.

Bryant appeared serious while speaking with a throng of media in a steamy gym at the University of Hawaii, although he occasionally smiled.

Asked if this was where he needed to be, he said: “I’m the most comfortable at home. But I have a job to do and I love playing basketball. So I’ll come out here and give it my best effort.”

AP-ES-10-04-03 2013EDT