Premature death enlarges the figure of those who are already legend and this is what happens with Kobe Bryant, whose Two years have passed since his death in a helicopter accident. That January 26, 2020, world sport was shocked by the fatal news that is still difficult to assimilate. The legendary former Lakers player had died at the age of 41 along with her daughter Gianna, 13, and seven other people, including some teammates of the little girl.
Kobe He was one of the greatest basketball players of all time. With the Los Angeles Lakers jersey, where he arrived in 1996, he won five NBA titles. He is one of only seven players in NBA history who managed to overcome the barrier of 30,000 points: he reached 33,643, with which he surpassed Jordan himself (32,292). He only has Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone and LeBron James above him.
In addition, he was chosen 11 times in the best quintet in the NBA and on nine occasions in the best defensive team in the league, which shows that his competitive spirit led him not only to be a scorer, but also an integral, complete player. He had 18 appearances in the All-Star Game, of which he was MVP four times, and in which he was the youngest to win the dunk tournament, in 1997 and at only 18 years old.
His sporting achievements were enormous. but even more is his legacy. Like Kobe always had Michael Jordan as a mirror, he inspired a whole generation of young players who cried for him in the games after his death and still remember him. The title won by the Lakers in the Disney World bubble that same year 2020 was full of references to the franchise icon. But ‘The Mamba Mentality’ even crossed the lines of the field to become the philosophy of numerous athletes from many specialties.
But in addition to becoming a world sports legend, The Black Mamba He always stood out for his large bank account and knowledge in the area of investments. During his basketball career, he earned more than $328 million in salary alone, and around $350 million in endorsements. Among the juiciest contracts appear recognized brands such as Nike, Sprite, McDonald’s, Turkish Airlines, Lenovo, Hublot and Panini. He also garnered another $20 million after the publication of his autobiography called “The Mamba Mentality: How I Play.”
At the time of his death the figure reached 600 million dollars, according to the Celebrity Net Worth website. After 20 seasons of glory in the NBA, he was able to get large sponsorship contracts and invested in various companies and media. In fact, Bryant created Granity Studios, his own multimedia studio in charge of creating stories through sports. In 2018 he won an Oscar for the short film “Dear Basketball”, where he narrates his experiences in the NBA.
Today, the entire estate passed into the hands of Vanessa Bryant, his wife. She too She is in charge of managing the money inherited by her daughters Natalia, Bianka and Capri. The distribution of money generated some controversy. Vanessa even had legal problems with her own mother, who demands “financial compensation” for having cared for her granddaughters and working as the couple’s assistant for several years. According to Sofía Laine, mother of Vanessa Bryant, Kobe promised her “never to abandon her”.
The investigation of the January 26, 2020 helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant, Gigi Bryant, Alyssa Altobelli, John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Payton Chester, Christina Mauser, and Ara Zobayan concluded that the disorientation of the pilot within the fog in which he was flying was the cause of the tragic outcome. Vanessa Bryant’s lawsuit against Los Angeles County for leaking photos of the accident is still standing and on February 22 the trial will begin.
On Tuesday, February 9, 2021, the final report prepared by the United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was presented, which determined that the Sikorsky S-76B helicopter with registration N72EX, in which they crashed in the city of calabasas, it was in excellent condition.
According to the report, the pilot would have become disoriented in the middle of the fog. According to authorities, disorientation can occur when pilots cannot see the sky or landscape, making it difficult to judge altitude and acceleration. In that state he did not trust or understand the flight instruments and when he thought he was coming out of the cloud he was actually descending. “This maneuver is consistent with the pilot experiencing spatial disorientation in conditions of limited visibility,” said Robert Sumwalt, chairman of the NTSB.
By exposing the causes, the report emphasizes the pilot’s failures and the decisions he made. The pilot “was flying under VFR or visual flight orders that legally prohibited him from entering clouds,” but he did so anyway, Sumwalt said. And they question the decision to bank the aircraft to the left rather than up to avoid fog. Regarding the weather conditions, they said that despite not being the best, the mistake was in continuing the trip and the trigger was the sum of bad decisions made in the air.
The report mentions Bryant’s relationship with the pilot and the pressure that providers of these services sometimes have to look good with clients who are generally powerful and/or admired people. “In all of those cases, it’s someone who had star status and the pilots desperately want to do a good job for the customer,” said NTSB board vice chairman Bruce Landsberg.
vanessa bryant filed lawsuits for negligence and wrongful death against the assets of the pilot and the owner and operator of the helicopter. She alleged that her husband died “as a direct result of the negligent conduct” of the helicopter pilot Ara Zobayan and that Island Express Helicopters was “subsidiary in all respects.” The families of the other victims sued the helicopter companies, but not Zobayan.
On Tuesday, June 22, it was announced that Vanessa Bryant and other relatives of the victims reached an agreement with the helicopter company to close this lawsuit for alleged negligence in the fatal accident: “The plaintiffs and the defendants jointly report that they have agreed to settle their claims in the aforementioned action”, says the document presented.
In September 2020 Vanessa Bryant also sued the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in federal court, after officers shared unauthorized photos of the crash site alleging civil rights violations, neglect, emotional distress, and violation of privacy.
The witness list includes Sheriff Alex Villanueva, current and former police personnel, journalists, a bartender who saw photos of the accident, and the customer; because according to Vannesa Bryant’s lawyers the photos were shown in a bar and at an awards gala.
Catherine Gasol, Rob and Kristin Pelinka, and Kobe’s sister Sharia Washington are expected to testify about Bryant’s emotional distress. California now has a state law that prohibits first responders from taking unauthorized photos of people who have died at the scene of an accident or crime. The trial is set for February 22. and they think it will last for two weeks.
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Kobe Bryant: two years after his death, how the cause, heritage and legacy he left for the sport continues