Kobe Bryant (1978-2020), a US basketball player, one of the best in my lifetime, died in a helicopter crash this past weekend. He was only 41. It gets worse: among the eight others who died in the crash was his 13-year-old daughter Gianna. Shocking and heart-breaking.
In 1996 USA Today named him the best high school basketball player in the nation. He went straight into the NBA, the national league, at age 17, the youngest ever. He played for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1996 to 2016. He was 1.98m tall (6 foot 6).
From 2000 to 2012 he helped Los Angeles to win five championships (2000, 2001, 2002, 2009 and 2010) and the US to win two Olympic gold medals (Beijing 2008 and London 2012).
In 2010 he was the highest paid NBA player in the land, that year making $48 million (2.5 million crowns). He made millions endorsing the likes of Coca Cola, Spalding, Turkish Airlines – and both Adidas and then Nike.
His record: When he retired he had scored 33,643 points, placing him squarely in the NBA’s top ten:
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: 38,387
- Karl Malone: 36,928
- LeBron James: 33,655
- Kobe Bryant: 33,643
- Michael Jordan: 32,292
- Dirk Nowitzki: 31,560
- Wilt Chamberlain: 31,419
- Shaquille O’Neal: 28,596
- Moses Malone: 27,409
- Elvin Hayes: 27,313
Bryant passed his hero Michael Jordan. In turn, LeBron James passed his hero, Kobe Bryant – on the eve of Bryant’s death. Bryant had given James his shoes and, in what turned out to be his last tweet, congratulated him for passing his score:
“Continuing to move the game forward @KingJames . Much respect my brother 💪🏾 #33644”
Aspiring media mogul: In retirement Bryant formed Granity Studios. His short animated film “Dear Basketball” (2017) won an Oscar.
Philosophy: He also wrote a book, “The Mamba Mentality: How I Play” (2018), which lays out his fanatical, analytical approach to basketball.
Transport: Thanks to LA’s infamous traffic, he took to travelling by helicopter.
Girls basketball: Of his four daughters, Gianna (aka GiGi) seemed to have been the one to inherit his basketball talent. That got him into coaching girls basketball. They were on the way to one of her games when they died.
MSNBC, when reporting his death, seemed to call the Los Angeles Lakers the “Los Angeles Niggers”. Alison Morris, the news anchor, said she had started to say “Knicks”, the New York team, and then corrected herself to say “Lakers” so that it came out as “Nakers”. More likely it was a Freudian slip.
Rape allegations: Upon his death some were quick to bring up rape allegations from 2003 – even though the judge had dismissed the criminal case against him. It was a he-said-she-said thing and she, a 19-year-old White hotel worker, had refused to testify in court. Bryant:
“Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did. After months of reviewing discovery, listening to her attorney, and even her testimony in person, I now understand how she feels that she did not consent to this encounter.”
He later settled the civil case she brought against him by paying an undisclosed sum.
– Abagond, 2020.
See also:
- His heroes:
- Michael Jordan
- Michael Jackson
- Oprah Winfrey
- Steve Jobs
- J.K. Rowling
- Walt Disney
- The N-word
- Black Brute / Pure White Woman stereotype
- some other sports figures:
- Olympics
- MSNBC
- crowns
550
I think many people are still in shock. Stuck in a state of disbelief. Someone like Kobe doesn’t die this way. I’ve been investigating this incident for the last few days. There’s some inconsistencies in this helicopter crash. Many things don’t make sense. I think sense people are sad and in shock they haven’t noticed. But something is very fishy. 🤔
LikeLike
“even though the judge had dismissed the criminal case against him. It was a he-said-she-said thing and she, a 19-year-old White hotel worker, had refused to testify in court.”
A timely infusion of cash goes a long way in smoothing hurt feelings arising out of misunderstandings.
LikeLike
This has been a hellish nightmare of epic proportions. One of those moments that no one believes when they’re initially told.
I feel so much pain for the families involved. The fans involved. There’s nothing really to say except I’m very very sorry. It’s just awful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did. After months of reviewing discovery, listening to her attorney, and even her testimony in person, I now understand how she feels that she did not consent to this encounter.” – Bryant
First and foremost, a rapist doesn’t pay for services, he simply takes it. This Katelyn Faber woman went to Bryant’s room under her own volition or free will. And in the same vein, prostitutes and or overly promiscuous women accepts payments for sloppy business transactions or in some instances, free of charge. I surmise that what truly counts sometimes is the experience itself and not necessarily the earning of a fee for bouncing in sexual unison or synchronization.
This, I believe, is why she didn’t want to truly take the stand. She would’ve easily gotten shredded to pieces.
Also, she was as nasty as they come. Her rape kit revealed and identified either one or two other men’s semen in either her vaginal cavity or her underwear just days after the consensual encounter with Black Mamba Kobe. In a nutshell (no pun intended), she didn’t even have the decency to wash or deusch her coochie. Nasty!
“The young woman accusing Kobe Bryant of rape bragged about the alleged assault at a party last week – and gave a graphic description of the NBA star’s anatomy, partygoers said.
Steve Evancho told NBC News that he was surprised when the 19-year-old woman showed up at his house party on July 15 – three days before prosecutors slapped Bryant with sex assault charges.
“She was bragging about the whole thing,” Evancho said, adding that the woman seemed “happy. She was having fun.”
She even answered a question about the 6-foot-7 L.A. Lakers star’s manhood, five people at the party told NBC.
“She answered with a gesture and a description,” said NBC correspondent Michelle Hofland. “They couldn’t believe it.”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/951769/posts
https://standyourground.com/forums/index.php?topic=3645.0
LikeLiked by 1 person
RIP.
Most people and yes it comes up just on the street or bus or whatnot, are saying, all that money, when it’s your time that’s it
LikeLike
So sad, so traffic, so sudden.
Condolences to his family.
LikeLiked by 1 person
May he get a happy rebirth. He was amazing, but the life goes on.
That’s why I am a bit surprised by not seing any news about Delbert Orr Africa and MOVE 9 on this blog.
LikeLiked by 1 person
RIP to Kobe Bryant and his beautiful young daughter Gianna and the other souls that perished. This is quite heartbreaking and tragic. Life is fragile.
LikeLike