I am moving posts on Kobe Bryant's passing to this thread. The mind struggles when a star leaves us suddenly and without explanation of how to find meaning in such tragedies.
Reading some of the grieving going on right now: https://twitter.com/Rachel__Nichols/status/1221559615214641152
Basketball icon Kobe Bryant, 41, died this morning in a helicopter crash. His incredible achievements will go down in sports history. I thought someone had had a vision of a sports figure passing during a Read the Future night, but could not find it. Sending healing thoughts to his spirit and all who are grieving right now. Sending gratitude to him for sharing his gift with us. Here is one of his greatest moments -an 81 point game condensed to 3 minutes.
I just heard this news. It's shocking. There are also reports (not yet verified) that some of his family also died in the crash. I will hold his family in my heart.
EDIT: Sadly, People magazine is now confirming that Kobe's oldest daughter, Gianna, 13, also died.
Yes... it's been reported his oldest daughter was with him :*( Prayers for the family and friends.
I was born and raised in LA and I have many family members and friends still there and I broke the news to my mom who is visiting me from LA when I first heard. Of course the entire city is in shock.
But to tell you how much of an impact his news has across the country here is the story of how my eldest daughter found out. She was attending a fundraiser as a teacher for her school at a bowling alley out here in Arizona. She said the DJ came on and said he had really sad news and announced his death. My daughter said the entire bowling alley was in shock. One of her close teacher friends is the sister of a Phoenix Suns basketball legend she was simply stunned. But so was everyone else. Everyone got on their phones to see if it were true , they were in disbelief. My daughter was still in shock when she came home.
There is live video of the Lakers coming off their air craft right now. Heartbreaking!! They were in transit after flying back from a game back east when they found out. That must have been one of the most difficult of announcements to make and to hear.
From President OBAMA:
Kobe was a legend on the court and just getting started in what would have been just as meaningful a second act. To lose Gianna is even more heartbreaking to us as parents. Michelle and I send love and prayers to Vanessa and the entire Bryant family on an unthinkable day.
As always, it is a blessing to hear from a true Comforter -In -Chief. President Obama, I love you.
I remember him being accused of rape. She was not believed. They did not think a seven ft. man(?) could intemendate a woman.
I had also thought I read about a very famous perso dying this year. It sound like someone who would have died young.
If you aren't watching The Grammy's you missed a very special moment with hostess Alicia Keys ~ who ..serenaded with style on the piano while she spoke of the loss of Kobe and his daughter and the rest of those on the flight as well as the Impeachment trial and how we have to pull together and celebrate our diversity and strive together to build the world where we all share and celebrate our uniqueness and contributions. I hope it is replayed for more people to here... she "lifted" me up as she sang and played and reached out.
I'm not a basketball or football fan. I thought he got away with it because he was such a big star. I think he was in the same group as H. Weinstein. Sorry. Maybe if I felt more about basketball, I would feel different
I posted on my facebook page a link to RAINN, which is a Rape Crisis Hotline to put victims of Rape, incest, etc into contact with local agencies that can help. I posted that Kobe's fans and admirers should donate $24 to this fund.
Sorry, this guy is another example of a wealthy, powerful man who raped a woman and the laws didn't apply to him because of his elite status.
I do offer condolences to the families who lost loved ones on that helicopter, especially those that lost children.
Jeanne - feel free to edit/delete this next posting, however it is from the Daily Beast, circa 2016 and it is in the accusers words of what happened. Partial excerpt. The previous part was she showed him around, he asked her to stay after her shift for 15 minutes and he took her to his room. There they kissed (consenual) and then he started taking off his pants. She tried to leave and he positioned himself between the door and her. Her forced her hand onto his genitalia and then tried undressing her. When she resisted, he put her in a choke hold and choked her harder everytime she resisted.
“And then,” she said, “he lifted up my skirt, took off my underwear and, and came inside me.” She continued: “That’s when he kept coming inside me and then he leaned his face toward mine and asked me if I liked it when a guy came on my face, I said no. Then he was like what did you say. Grabbed and like tightened his hold on my neck, I said no. He said he was gonna do it anyway. And then at that point I got a little bit more aggressive with him and tried to release his hands from my neck. And he was still behind me and at that point he’s still choking me, I was not trying as hard as I could of to get away, but I was still trying.”
Sorry, maybe this guy needs all the light we can give him, but frankly he's a pile of refuse.
He was an icon, but one can’t forget this.
I hadn't known about the rape case until you all began posting about it. I changed the title of the thread from "a beloved icon" to just "Kobe Bryant." When I created the title, I was not really thinking of Kobe Bryant himself, but about the reaction we all have when someone famous and loved dies suddenly and young. But I admit that a little voice in the back of my head whispered, "Be careful, Jeanne, you don't know this guy." But I posted it anyway and you all spoke up, thankfully.
@jeanne-mayell and everyone, there is a good editorial by Molly Roberts about that rape case and Bryant's tragic death in today's Washington Post.
Thank you for the clarification. There are a LOT of posts in memory of his passing. It is clear that his athletic greatness reached a lot of people. But, the crime was yet another in a pile of wealthy powerful men raping women and not facing justice. It just goes to show that talent, race and education aren't vaccines to this disease of entitlement by the elites.
#Metoo
Love to all people fighting this fight.
By every account, from people famous to obscure, Kobe Bryant was not only an incredible athlete, husband and father- he was a good human being who made a big mistake 17 years ago when he was accused of sexual assault.
He paid a heavy price for that mistake. His reputation was forever tarnished and at the time, the public turned against him. He lost endorsement contracts and his brand sales plummeted. Moreover, he almost lost his family-the most important thing to him.
The case was dropped and they settled out of court. Kobe went on to apologize for the incident. He said that he truly believed it was consensual, but recognized that she didn’t view it that way. In Kobe fashion he spent months reviewing the discovery, listening to her lawyers and even the young lady herself. Afterwards he said he understood why she felt she did not consent to the encounter.
He handled that ugly chapter in his life with compassion, humility and grace. There was no other assault accusation before or after that event. As a matter of fact, it seems the encounter drove him to become a better husband, a better father and a better man. He went on to speak out against civil rights issues and as the father of four girls, he championed women’s athletics.
While I don’t have the gift that many of you are blessed with on this site, I am very sensitive to people’s energy. What I know is, the Kobe that just left us, radiated with light and positivity. You could feel it. You could see it in his eyes and in his love for his family. He reached a higher level of himself.
Nobody was better at learning from mistakes and rising above them than Kobe. That’s actually what made him so special. It’s why 17 years after a grave mistake -which had people booing him mercilessly from the stands- we are seeing people around the world celebrate his life.
You wrote a lot of how I felt and what I was thinking. Thank you.