Not a day like any other: NBA superstar Kobe Bryant and his daughter die in a helicopter crash

Debris is widely spread on a mountain slope in Calabasas, a helicopter has crashed. It quickly becomes clear that it is Kobe Bryant’s Sikorsky and that the basketball star died in it. A tragedy that has struck the heart of the sporting world as it marks the first anniversary of Tuesday’s horrifying memories of the 26 January 2020 come back up.

“They say time heals all wounds,” said LeBron James of NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers, looking ahead to the anniversary of his death. “Only time” could do that, says the current leader of the franchise, in which Bryant spent his entire career, as “devastating and tragic” as the loss is to this day.

James honors Bryant’s legacy as best he can, leading the Lakers to their first championship in ten years this fall, and of course dedicating the triumph to Bryant. It still hurts a lot that his role model died at the age of 41: “It takes time, everyone grieves differently.”

At 9:45 a.m., the helicopter crashed 50 kilometers northwest of downtown LA. Bryant’s daughter Gianna (13) was on board, she was supposed to play a tournament at the Mamba Sports Academy at the destination Thousand Oaks. The training center, named after Bryant’s nickname. Today it is only called Sports Academy – out of respect for the deceased.

A total of nine people died in the accident. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) wants to announce why this could happen in early February in the final report on the investigation. So far, poor visibility has been the cause, pilot Ara Zobayan could have lost his bearings in the fog.

action for negligence

Bryant’s widow Vanessa has therefore sued the operator of the helicopter for negligence. She believes that there shouldn’t have been a start because of the weather conditions. According to information from USA Today, there are nine lawsuits in total, and 35 lawyers from numerous law firms are dealing with the crash.

No matter how the matter turns out in court, no judgment can offer consolation. “We’re approaching the anniversary, it saddens our hearts when we realize he’s gone,” said Lakers pro Anthony Davis. “I’m still having trouble with it, you just can’t believe it.”

Tyronn Lue, coach of the LA Clippers and one-time teammate of Bryant, feels the same way. “I generally don’t deal well with death,” said Lue, who had to hang down the pictures in his house that showed him with the five-time champion. “I’m trying to deal with it. He was such a great guy.”

The world of sports in particular was touched by death. “Mamba, that hits me really hard,” wrote Germany’s basketball idol Dirk Nowitzki at the time. Even Magic Johnson or Michael Jordan, the big ones among the big ones, pulled the rug out from under their feet.

Bryant had spent some years of his childhood and youth in the place. His father played basketball there.

(SID)