Kobe Bryant

[ad hoc]

Killed in a helicopter crash apparently

[Amor de Cosmos]

Good grief. How tragic.

[Satchmo Distel]

Story first reported by TMZ. No official confirmation AFAIK.

It seems to have sent Twitter over capacity

[Flynnie]

Story first reported by TMZ. No official confirmation AFAIK.

It seems to have sent Twitter over capacity

I think a few LA TV affiliates have also got it independent of TMZ.

[Flynnie]

Woj has it on ESPN.

[Satchmo Distel]

It's official that 5 people have died in a crash in Calabasas and I infer that Kobe is one of them. Deepest sympathies for the families of all five.

[Satchmo Distel]

I've got LSU vs. #23 Tennessee (W Basketball) on a stream and the commentators are trying to cope with relaying the tragic news. It reminds me that Howard Cosell had to relay the news on the night of John Lennon's murder.

[Diable Rouge]

BBC now confirming the news.

[Satchmo Distel]

Trying to think of who would be a British equivalent on the news scale; perhaps nobody has been that big in the UK of late, our view of sporting stardom being more mundane (i.e. less sacred) relatively. Princess Diana is the closest celebrity comparison I can think of.

[Diable Rouge]

Trying to think of who would be a British equivalent on the news scale; perhaps nobody has been that big in the UK of late, our view of sporting stardom being more mundane (i.e. less sacred) relatively. Princess Diana is the closest celebrity comparison I can think of.

Bobby Moore in the Nineties, or perhaps David Beckham in modern times? As for Ireland, probably Roy Keane or Brian O'Driscoll.

[Incandenza]

In tears right now. Newscasters in LA are visibly emotional, this is going to hit people very hard. The Lakers returning to prominence in the 2000s was a huge thing for the city. I hope there is a public memorial.

[G-Man]

Not wanting to ,uddy the mourning, but wasn't he a bit of a rapist?

[Incandenza]

[URL]https://twitter.com/BonnieBernstein/status/1221529437285404674[/URL]

TMZ reporting his 13-year old daughter was with him and is also dead.

[Hot Pepsi]

Oh fuck, that is awful.

There were a few minutes there when the most reputable sources reporting it were TMZ, the NYPost and a local ABC station, so there was hope that it wasn’t true. But then I saw that the LA Sheriffs were confirming a helicopter crash, but not saying who was in it. And then more reputable sources were reporting it. So sad.

ESPN.com held off until they got confirmation. So there was a while where it was all over Twitter and ESPN.com was focused on the fucking pro bowl. Just cruel irony that they were dutifully covering the worst sporting event on the calendar when something like this happens.

[Cesar Rodriguez]

TMZ reporting his 13-year old daughter was with him and is also dead.

Ah God, terrible news.

Kobe loved basketball as much as anyone has ever loved basketball. He ate basketball, slept basketball, lived and breathed it. He loved it in the way that a 6 year old kid playing it for the first time loves it.

His death is a huge loss to the sport, I consider myself blessed to have watched him play. RIP to him, condolences to his family, all his teammates and the Lakers and basketball fans in general who loved to watch him play. This is a very sad day.

[Nefertiti2]

-of course you wanted to muddy the mourning G-Man. He’s just a few hours dead

[URL]https://twitter.com/kaj33/status/1221543886767579136?s=21[/URL]

[Cesar Rodriguez]

When you really drill down there are very, very few players in basketball that meant as much to the game as Kobe.

Bill Russell, KAJ, Magic, Bird, Michael. I think that's it.

Crazy to think that he is dead before all of them.

I read your post upthread Inca, sorry of the loss you and your city is experiencing.

[Kevin S]

That'd be why this video popped up in my timeline. Eep.

https://twitter.com/SLAMonline/status/1221539178992762881?s=09

[Foot of Astaire's]

Anyone see the BBC coverage of it at 10pm? They showed footage of what was clearly Lebron James

[Nefertiti2]

Clip here

[URL]https://twitter.com/matthewchampion/status/1221557555652153344?s=21[/URL]

[Cesar Rodriguez]

Trying to think of who would be a British equivalent on the news scale; perhaps nobody has been that big in the UK of late, our view of sporting stardom being more mundane (i.e. less sacred) relatively. Princess Diana is the closest celebrity comparison I can think of.

To answer your question - There is clear symmetry between phenomenal scorers in basketball and world class batsmen in that they perform individual feats of brilliance 1 v 5 or 1 v 11 but at the same time are often criticized for being selfish. Is there an English batsmen that would fit that bill? Im not knowledgeable enough to know.

Kobe was a one of a kind and he carved out a very unique place in American life. He was flawed, he was polarizing, he definitely had his detractors and he even alienated former teammates and coaches but through all that he managed to be one of the most important basketball people in the games history.

Thousands upon thousands of American kids have taken shots in a gym or a playground or on their driveway in some hypothetical buzzer beating scenario and yelled "Kobe". To an entire generation of American kids he was a colossus.

[scratchmonkey]

James passed Kobe on the all-time scorer's list yesterday (and gave an extensive post-game interview about Kobe as well), they may have been referencing that. ETA: Ahaha, no, no, apparently not.

Absolutely awful tragedy, especially considering that there were two children on the helicopter. I also don't think discussing aspects of Kobe's past are out-of-bounds either.

[Cesar Rodriguez]

A hit and run post about a recently deceased human being a rapist is not a discussion though is it? Its not thought provoking or constructive or respectful its like throwing a brick through someones window and then running away.

[Satchmo Distel]

Yes the discussion is way too early* but I had already composed this response so will post it

My understanding is that he eventually developed some empathy for why his accuser believed it was rape, whilst he insisted up to his death that he believed it was consensual. In other words, it was a rape caused by Bryant's lack of forethought about boundaries and consent rather than because Bryant willing committed an act he knew was non-consensual.

That's not to excuse but to offer some context for a man no longer around to defend himself. He wasn't a Mike Tyson or, dare I say, a Trump.

*(maybe it could be quarantined into another thread as a derail?)

[scratchmonkey]

I don't particularly want to litigate G-Man's post in proxy; the sexual assault controversy has been brought up in all the obits that I've read thus far and it's an important social issue -- as you say, I would hope that it would be something that would be "discussed" rather than reduced to drive-by sniping.