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You are here: Home / Absent Friends / RIP / RIP Kobe Bryant

RIP Kobe Bryant

by | 97 Comments

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His helicopter crashed this morning. Four other people dead as well.

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97Comments

  2. 2.

    O. Felix Culpa

    Only 41. He accomplished a lot in those few decades, but a sad loss for his family, friends and fans.

  3. 3.

    Mike in DC

    They’re saying that his daughters were also killed. I know that he was credibly accused of rape, but my thoughts are with his wife and his family at this point. Plenty of time to address the more problematic aspects of his legacy later.

  8. 8.

    Comrade Colette Collaboratrice

    Wow, terrible. Never mind what kind of person he was – 5 people dead is tragic, the more so if some were children.

  9. 9.

    prostratedragon

    How horrific and sad!

    Just as I fired up the machine I was thinking about another notable person, still living so far as I know, and how whatever that person’s personal or political life might be, he still brought joy and beauty into the world. Something of the same can be said of Kobe Bryant: he did make his mark.

  10. 10.

    Brachiator

    @CaseyL:

    He seems to have been a genuinely good guy.

    No, he was complicated, as most people are.

    Even putting the scandals aside for now, I note how some of his biggest fans would simultaneously accuse him of being a selfish player and ball hog, and then marvel at some of his game achievements.

    I live in Southern California. Obituaries for many notable persons are pre-written and updated. But damn, it must be a shock for those who have had to pull out the obit for Kobe.

    Damn.

  13. 13.

    TaMara (HFG)

    Fuck. His 13-year-old daughter was with him. Just confirmed.

    https://www.tmz.com/2020/01/26/kobe-bryant-killed-dead-helicopter-crash-in-calabasas/

    12:35 PM PT — Kobe’s daughter Gianna Maria — aka GiGi — was also on board the helicopter and died in the crash … reps for Kobe tell TMZ Sports. She was 13.
    We’re told they were on their way to the Mamba Academy for a basketball practice when the crash occurred. The Academy is in nearby Thousand Oaks.

  14. 14.

    Cermet

    No greater horror for his wife/remaining family members than not just his lost but their four (?) daughters, too!  Traggic does not do this terrible horror justice.

    Realizing this also occurs to whole familes like when we destoried Iraq makes me realize both what a monsterous animal bush/cheney and our butchering evangical rightwing religious types are but for me, how I so overlooked that aspect of that horror till now. My failing.

  16. 16.

    CaseyL

    @Brachiator:

    Wow, that was a quick reply – I edited my comment to take that part out after reading Mike in DC’s comment.

    I’m not a basketball fan and don’t know much about Kobe; I thought I had heard that he did a lot of community work, and was speaking to that.  (Maybe he did, I don’t know.)

    In any case, it’s awful news.

  18. 18.

    Mary G

    I wondered why people on Twitter were arguing whether or not he was the best bball player of all time or not even the best Laker ever. (I am team Kareem.)

    And taking a helicopter from Calabasas to Thousand Oaks? It’s 13 miles Google Maps estimates takes 15 minutes to drive.

    Still a tragedy and his family is in my sincere thoughts and prayers.

  20. 20.

    Cermet

    The news says none of his children were on the helicopter – thank goodness; for that, at least.

  21. 21.

    Brachiator

    @CaseyL:

    I’m not a basketball fan and don’t know much about Kobe; I thought I had heard that he did a lot of community work, and was speaking to that. (Maybe he did, I don’t know.)

    He did do community work.  As I noted, he was a complicated person.  I will want to read some of the obituaries.  Few of us should ever been known only for the best, or the worst, things we did in life.

    I am not a super sports fan, but I have followed the Lakers for years.  Attended some of their best games.

    Kobe’s loss gets to me.

  23. 23.

    JanieM

    One of his daughters was just born last June. Where is it being reported that they all died?

    Even though I didn’t care much for Kobe as a player back when I was a basketball [aka Celtics] fan, this is almost impossible to take in. It reminds me of when Steve Prefontaine died in 1975. Someone so surpassingly talented, and, in a way, part of the woodwork of your life if you’re a sports fan — surely they’re always going to be there, growing old along with the rest of us……

  25. 25.

    Mary G

    Lamh is  on Twitter making the point that TMZ is notorious for being wrong and she might even believe Fox News over them, so grain of salt on things they report in the rush to be first.

  27. 27.

    Suzanne

    This is so unbelievably sad. I know that Kobe did some bad things in life. But it also seemed that he responded as best as we can hope for. And I so, so hope that his children are okay.

  28. 28.

    Cheryl Rofer

    Here’s a reconstruction of the helicopter trip. The weather was bad, and they were going over mountains.

  29. 29.

    Cacti

    @JanieM:

    TMZ is reporting that his oldest girl was on the flight with him.  But no identity confirmation thus far on the other 4 people killed.

  30. 30.

    lamh36

    @JPL: damn.

    Like I’ve said I just don’t trust TMZ until someone else confirms.

     

    But a reputable ESPN reporter is reporting:

     

    Adrian Wojnarowski‏Verified account @wojespn

    More

    Sources: Kobe Bryant was on his way to a travel basketball game with his daughter Gianna when the helicopter crashed. Those aboard the helicopter also included another player and parent.

  31. 31.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    Twitter has broke down. But on the trending list is “RIP Rick Fox” Yikes!

  32. 32.

    debbie

    @Brachiator:

    some of his biggest fans would simultaneously accuse him of being a selfish player and ball hog

    But he matured and grew out of that, didn’t he?

  37. 37.

    Martin

    3 more cases of coronavirus in the US today – Orange County & LA County, CA. Maricopa County, AZ.

    Less concerned that it’s 3 more cases, than it’s in 3 different locations (though the OC and LA cases could easily have come in on the same flight).

    Terrible news about Kobe and his daughter. Met him a few times and he seemed pretty cool.

  40. 40.

    Gin & Tonic

    Reports are of bad weather. Wouldn’t be the first and certainly won’t be the last VFR (visual flight) pilot to die in IFR (instrument-only) conditions.

    I had a friend who did that many years ago.

  42. 42.

    Suzanne

    @Martin: The Maricopa County case also plausibly came in on the same flight. LAX is the closest major hub to PHX for international flights to east Asia.

  44. 44.

    JPL

    @Martin: Travel between business folks and China continue as though it is just a mild flu.   Nothing to worry about.    I have to wonder if that is coming from the administration.   Let’s not do anything that disrupts the economy.

  46. 46.

    Elizabelle

    WaPost frontpage links a long profile of Kobe they did a while back. Looks worth a click.

    Very sad news. Untimely death for all, and losing Gianna too … RIP and eventual peace to the families and friends.

  49. 49.

    lamh36

    @KOT4Q

    More

    The Spurs and Raptors both take 24 second violations in honor of Kobe Bryant while the crowd chants “KOBE!”

     

    https://twitter.com/KOT4Q/status/1221541848503791623

    You can tell the players are gutted.  They are playing more listless than you expect for an NBA game..man

     

    here’s video of Kobe’s daugther on the basketball court. She wanted to be just like him:

    https://twitter.com/YourFavoriteZoe/status/1221537115919527936

  50. 50.

    Martin

    @Brachiator: He was pretty well known here. He lived a couple miles from me when he was with the Lakers. He would come and train at the student gym on campus, which made him very popular. I ran into him and one of his daughters at Albertsons once. He’s pretty hard to miss at the grocery store.

  54. 54.

    MazeDancer

    Jerry Nadler reports his wife is battling pancreatic cancer.

    He will miss some of the impeachment trial next week to be with her.

  62. 62.

    gene108

    @CaseyL:

    Kobe had an immature period (for lack of a better term), in his 20’s.

    From all accounts, he has had his shit together for years.

    RIP Kobe Bryant

  63. 63.

    lamh36

    CNN now also reporting that Kobe’s daugther Gianna was also a victim of the helicopter crash.  They were taking her to her basketball game

  64. 64.

    Brachiator

    @JPL:

    LA Times took down their pay wall.

    The photos of the fans at Staples Center, paying their respects, are amazing.

  65. 65.

    hilts

    Damn! In the past few days we’ve lost Terry Jones, Jim Lehrer, Kobe Bryant and all those artifacts from the Museum of Chinese in America.  Condolences to the families and friends of these three men.

    Also too, by Friday the Senate may dismiss the impeachment charges against Trump in which case it would be appropriate to see a thread posted here titled “RIP U.S. Constitution”

  66. 66.

    opiejeanne

    At least one other child and a parent, and another person are dead. We’re so busy worrying about Kobe’s kids, and the tragedy for his family, that I think some of us are forgetting that people who were not so famous were also killed in this crash, including another child.

  67. 67.

    lamh36

    @opiejeanne:

    take a deep breathe.

    don’t know about “we” but I can only say that I and those I follow have not just been focusing on just Kobe.

    Just cause folks are talking about Kobe doesn’t mean they aren’t also thinking and/or talking about the other victims…

  70. 70.

    opiejeanne

    @lamh36: Well, no. Wishing that his other children aren’t victims of the tragic accident means that it’s ok if some other people are, because we know that there were at least 5 people who died. That’s what I’m seeing, and not necessarily here. It wasn’t directed at anyone in particular, and Twitter is rife with comments like that, so glad it wasn’t his other kids.

    And now we know one of the victims was a baseball coach at OCC. It’s a tragedy for all of the families who lost someone

  71. 71.

    Brachiator

    @opiejeanne:

    Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli was among the victims of the helicopter crash that also killed former Lakers star Kobe Bryant, OCC assistant coach Ron La Ruffa confirmed Sunday, Jan 26.

    Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter Gianna also was killed in the crash. The other victims have not been identified yet.

    Orange Coast College officials and supporters gathered at the school as news spread Sunday.

    Altobelli was entering his 24th season as Orange Coast College’s coach. In 2019, Altobelli was selected as the American Baseball Coaches Association’s national coach of the year following a season in which he led the Pirates to a state championship.

    I think that all the victims, including possibly the pilot, will be mourned as they are identified.

  72. 72.

    opiejeanne

    @Brachiator: It’s not the mourning I’m objecting to. It’s the wishing it away from Kobe’s other kids, as if the other people on board are no one special to anyone.

    It’s not recognizing that they are substituting someone else’s deaths for those of the famous family members.

  73. 73.

    opiejeanne

    Stepping away to do something else, because I am also mourning Kobe and his daughter and I just can’t deal with people right now.

  74. 74.

    Brachiator

    The official briefing about the crash notes that there may be as many as nine bodies. Survivors are being notified.

    This is sad for so many people.

    In weird confluence of events trivia, basketball fans are asked to stay away from the Staples Center this evening because of the Grammys.

  75. 75.

    lamh36

    SHIT!!!! LA Sheriff just said there was NINE PEOPLE on board the helicopter!!!! 8 passengers dead plus the pilot!!!

     

    @LAcrimes

    32s33 seconds ago

    More

    Breaking: Sheriff @LACoSheriff said nine on board helicopter and all are dead #KobeBryant helicopter “eight plus the pilot”

  77. 77.

    lamh36

    @RebeccaLobo
    Follow Follow @RebeccaLobo
    MoreRebecca Lobo Retweeted ESPN
    No @NBA player supported the @WNBA or women’s college basketball more than Kobe. He attended games, watched on tv, coached the next generation. We pray for his family.

  78. 78.

    Ksmiami

    2020 isn’t shaping up in a good way. I watched Kobe reinvigorate basketball and the Lakers and I just can’t believe this

  79. 79.

    lamh36

    THIS is why I do not like TMZ. They broke the news of Kobe’s death BEFORE the sheriff was able to notify the FUQN’ FAMILY!!!

    TMZ IS TRASH YA’LLL!!!

  80. 80.

    WaterGirl

    @opiejeanne:

    Wishing that his other children aren’t victims of the tragic accident means that it’s ok if some other people are…

    I disagree that wishing that his other children weren’t also victims does not in any way mean that it’s okay with them that someone else will be dead. I think what it means is that they are horrified at the thought of an exponential loss like that, or because they are relieved that it wasn’t most of one entire family.

    Picture losing your father.  Or your husband.  Now picture also losing your child and your husband, or your father and your sister.

    Now picture if you lost your husband and all your children, in an instant.

    Kudos to the person who mentioned people who are killed with drones at weddings, where entire families, and possibly everyone you knew died in an instant, even if you were “lucky” enough to have survived it yourself.

    edited

  82. 82.

    Barbara

    I do not understand leaving it up to the pilot to decide whether conditions were safe enough.  I am just so sorry for all these families.  I assume they are only gradually releasing other names to ensure family members have been notified.

  83. 83.

    LeftCoastYankee

    I read a profile of him several years ago and it noted his one super-rich habit was flying in a helicopter from his house to home games, back when he was still playing.

    I guess he still had that helicopter habit  Damn.

  84. 84.

    JanieM

    @Barbara: I’m sure someone here who flies knows more about it, but around where I live, a few years ago a wealthy businesswoman who had her own private jet took off from the airport in Augusta, Maine, with her 10 y.o. son aboard, not long before the airport was closed because we were having an night of icy rain. Afterwards officials said they had warned her, but that until they closed the airport there was nothing they could legally do to prevent her making her own decision.

    The plane crashed about twenty miles out, and she and her child died.

  85. 85.

    Barbara

    @JanieM: The theory is that the pilot’s life is at stake, but that doesn’t account for the fact that many pilots are above average in confidence and risk taking or under pressure from employers like this woman.  We don’t know that weather was the only issue.

  87. 87.

    JanieM

    @Barbara: Maybe you found some other info, but from what was said at the time I don’t think this woman was under pressure from any employer. Overconfidence (“bold pilots”) seems to have been a factor, maybe impatience, and maybe skepticism that the locals knew what they were talking about with the weather. One of many articles here.

  89. 89.

    Barbara

    @JanieM:  No, she pressured the pilot. She employed the pilot, unless she was the pilot. I had a client who fired two pilots after they assured him that there was a window of calm and then ended up being terrified as they flew through violent storms.

    ETA:  According to the link she was the pilot and declined de-icing.  Why?  After the Air Florida disaster I thought de-icing was mandated under certain conditions.  So I guess she was an above average risk taker.  Is it okay if I feel sorry for her kid but not her?

     

     

  90. 90.

    WaterGirl

    @Death Panel Truck: Because I thought that was what she was essentially saying.  I will go back and re-read the comment.

    edit: I edited my comment to be more clear about what I was trying to say.  thanks.

  91. 91.

    JanieM

    @Barbara:

    Is it okay if I feel sorry for her but not her kid?

    I’m not in charge of who anyone feels sorry for, but that’s kind of how I felt. She also had a daughter, who lost her mother and her brother. It’s just sad all the way around.

    Also, I guess I didn’t make it clear enough in my first comment that she was the pilot

    ETA: Now I see that you changed your comment midstream, and I copied one version (which I thought said what you actually changed it to) and responded to another. To be clear about my own feelings: I was at the time most sorry of all for her kids, both the one who died and the one who was left behind.

    And now I think I’m done with the internet for tonight. I’m sad for so many reasons, and so many people….

  92. 92.

    Mary G

    @Mary G: Well, I read it wrong or the news was wrong. Kobe lived here in Orange County, not Calabasas, a lot farther and a nasty drive through LA. If I had to go there and could afford to take a helicopter I would too.

  93. 93.

    WaterGirl

    @Mary G:  So sad.  “If onlys”, especially with senseless death, can tear you apart.  I wish the families peace, but I’m not sure how they get there.  This always makes me feel a little more calm.

    Peace to soothe you, Grace to hold you, Love to comfort you.

    I wish that for all of them.

  94. 94.

    Gvg

    @opiejeanne: in WWII, it was US policy not to draft ALL the sons of one family. My grandfather was an only son of a farm family and was exempted for that reason. I am not sure this was perfectly applied at all times and I think it didn’t prevent voluntary enlistment, but people have a kind of horror or a whole family or a large segment of a family being killed all at once. I recall reading about 4 brothers who all served on the same ship, and all went down together causing a specific navy policy forbidding that, but the story was a tear jerker horror that fascinates people and news people knew it. There was another story about a small town that lost a whole bunch of men in the same day. I think it was the invasion of Normandy. anyway the military used to send cars with Officers to tell the families, and that town saw one car after another for a whole day so everyone watched their neighbors get the news and wondered if it was their kin.  There is just something about that kind of big tragedy that makes news and scares people. It doesn’t have to be famous people. I saw that reaction to a bus stop crash that killed several kids in the same family and a multi car interstate crash that killed most of a family traveling together in 2 different minivans on a foggy holiday when a semi lost control. Not famous, but 6 relatives including children….people react emotionally. What we really would wish is no one gets killed. We don’t get that though and wishes don’t actually change anything or have any power, and people know that, so when they “wish” it wasn’t all the daughters, they are NOT really wishing someone else would die instead.

  95. 95.

    Gvg

    @opiejeanne: wishes don’t have any power and we know it so wishing any family doesn’t have a husband and 4 daughter dead in an instant is just wishing that, NOT wanting someone else to have dead family. Yes we heard 5 dead. We did not kill those people, bad luck did. Who ever is dead, is dead no matter what we wish. We are just cringing away from an extremely hard to imagine pain, empathizing.

    the news is getting worse, but it was also possible the news was wrong and there were fewer dead. Also it is not because the family is famous, although it’s kind of random if we hear about non famous. Still I have seen public reaction to most of a family dying in an accident before. People watch in fear and sympathy.

  96. 96.

    JanieM

    Not done after all, I guess.

    @Gvg:

    I recall reading about 4 brothers who all served on the same ship, and all went down together causing a specific navy policy forbidding that, but the story was a tear jerker horror that fascinates people and news people knew it.

    “The Sullivan Boys”, as I heard them called when I was growing up — five brothers. Their story was still very much alive when I was a kid in the fifties, maybe more so in my household because my dad had also been in the Navy.

  97. 97.

    Soprano2

    I was shocked to hear this news.  Damn small planes and helicopters and bad weather.  What a horrible tragedy for all the families. In 2012 my sister, her bf and his three children (17, 15 and 10) were killed in a small plane crash. She was 46, he was 43, and they were both prominent business owners in our community. I went to 4 memorials or visitations in 4 days, an experience I hope to never repeat. Especially because of the kids it was extremely public, which made the whole thing even harder. I cannot begin to imagine how hard this is going to be for these families.  (Oh, and did I mention my car was totaled by a hit-and-run driver in the middle of it? I had to explain to the cops why I was crying almost hysterically over relatively minor damage and no injuries.) my thoughts are with all of them.

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