Around 12:45 p.m. ET on Sunday, January 26th, air traffic control received a radar signal from the helicopter carrying NBA Legend Kobe Bryant, his thirteen-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people. That was the last contact made with the carrier before it crashed into the Calabasas hillside, leading to the tragic deaths of everyone onboard.
News broke around two hours after and quickly spread. I myself found out when my roommate got a text from her friend saying "Kobe died." From there it was searching online for the next couple of hours as we tried to find out how such a thing came to be. In no time, #RipKobe was trending on twitter and every news channel was giving live updates on the story.
No matter if you are a basketball fan or not, chances are you know the name Kobe. Whether it was from the recent meme featuring him explaining something to his daughter or even just heard someone yelling "KOBE" as they attempted to make a trashcan with a makeshift paper ball. Bryant transcended the sport itself, becoming a legend and household name to anyone.
Now, many people are in mourning as they reflect over the man they knew him to be and the impact he had on the world. Not only was he known for his skills on the court, but his talent as a loving father, and his philanthropy work such as with his Mamba Sports Academy, which he founded as a space to help youth and adults train in various sports.
People see his death as a reminder to be grateful for what you have while you have it. The fact that he passed doing something as mundane as traveling from one place to another hit home with many. One twitter user (@SpoiledAaLona) tweeted "Leaving your home and getting back safely is such an underrated blessing."
In the wake of this tragedy comes yet another. As said before, after finding out about Bryant, I spent hours reading over news reports, refreshing the page as new ones came out every minute. With each, different facts were presented. The body count grew from three to four to nine. Most notably it was reported that none of his children were present, and then all of them. If I have learned nothing else from my journalism classes, it is that the main purpose of news media is to spread the truth. In that, many outlets failed. They were more concerned with being first as opposed to being right.
Regardless, this is a tragedy that affects countless people in the world. But my heart goes out to those personally affected by the tragedy, not only Vanessa and the other children, but the families of the others in the crash as well.
List of the Deceased:
Kobe Bryant
Gianna Bryant
John Altobelli
Keri Altobelli
Alyssa Altobelli
Christina Mauser
Sarah Chester
Payton Chester
Ara Zobayan
