Source: Kobe Bryant Facebook page.

by Rob Woollard

Ah NBA legend Kobe Bryant died Sunday when a helicopter he was riding in crashed and burst into flames in thick fog, killing all nine people on board including his teenage daughter and plunging the sports world into mourning.

Bryant, 41, was travelling with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other passengers and crew when their Sikorsky S-76 helicopter slammed into a rugged hillside in Calabasas, west of Los Angeles. There were no survivors.

Bryant, a five-time NBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medallist, is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players in history, an iconic figure who became one of the faces of his sport during a glittering two-decade career with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Dozens of firefighters and paramedics battled across steep terrain to reach the flaming wreckage at the crash site but found no survivors, officials said.

The National Transportation Safety Board said an 18-strong team of investigators would be sent to California to probe the causes of the crash.

Bryant’s death sent shockwaves throughout the world, with basketball stars stunned by the news.

“Laker Nation, the game of basketball & our city, will never be the same without Kobe,” former Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson wrote on Twitter.

Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan said Bryant was “like a little brother” to him.

“Words can’t describe the pain I’m feeling,” Jordan said. “We used to talk often and I will miss those conversations very much.”

Worldwide tributes

Tributes to Bryant flooded in from former US presidents, pop stars and athletes from different sports, a sign of how the man known as the “Black Mamba” had transcended basketball.

“Kobe was a legend on the court and just getting started in what would have been just as meaningful a second act,” former US President Barack Obama wrote on Twitter.

American football star Tom Brady wrote simply: “We miss you already Kobe.”

Brazilian soccer star Neymar paid tribute to Bryant after scoring for his French club side Paris Saint-Germain, making the number 24 — Bryant’s old shirt number — with his fingers.

At the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, several hundred shocked fans gathered to pay tribute as the venue which witnessed many of Bryant’s career highlights hosted the music industry’s Grammy Awards.

“This dude is everything to me man. It makes no sense,” said distraught Lakers fan Bobby Jimenez, sobbing as he stood outside the venue.

The Grammys got under way with a somber tribute from singer Alicia Keys.

“To be honest with you, we’re all feeling crazy sadness right now,” Keys told the audience. “Los Angeles, America and the whole wide world lost a hero. And we’re literally standing here heartbroken in the house that Kobe Bryant built.”

Across the NBA, tributes were held at several of the eight games scheduled for Sunday.

Denver Nuggets fans began chants of “Kobe, Kobe” as a minute’s silence was held before their game against the Houston Rockets.

In New York, Madison Square Garden was lit up in purple and gold colors of the Lakers, alongside a giant image of Bryant captioned: “Kobe Bryant, 1978-2020.”

The crash came only hours after Bryant was passed by current Lakers star LeBron James for third on the all-time NBA scoring list in a Saturday game at Philadelphia.

Bryant’s final post on social media had been a tweet congratulating James on surpassing him.

“Continuing to move the game forward @KingJames,” Bryant wrote. “Much respect my brother #33644”.

Five-time champion

Bryant was a five-time NBA champion in a career that began in 1996 straight out of a high school and lasted until his retirement in 2016.

He also was a two-time Olympic gold medalist, helping spark the US squad of NBA stars to titles in 2008 in Beijing and 2012 in London.

Bryant bowed out of the NBA in 2016, scoring 60 points in his final appearance before his adoring fans at the Staples Center.

It was a fairytale farewell to a sporting career which had begun two decades earlier.

The son of former NBA player Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, the Lakers legend was born in Philadelphia in 1978 while his father played for the 76ers.

The elder Bryant played from 1984 to 1991 in Italy, giving young Kobe a global worldview as he grew up dreaming of following his dad into the NBA.

He would eventually join the ranks of professionals at the age of 17, jumping directly into the NBA, only the sixth player and first guard to make such a leap.

At 18, Bryant became, at the time, the youngest player or starter in an NBA game and the youngest winner of the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.

With Bryant paired alongside Shaquille O’Neal, the Lakers captured three NBA crowns in a row from 2000-2002, returning the team to glory days unseen since 1988.

Bryant’s career was almost derailed in 2003 when he was  arrested in Colorado over a sexual assault complaint filed by a 19-year-old hotel employee where Bryant was staying ahead of knee surgery.

Bryant was accused of rape. He admitted to adultery but said he did not commit rape. The case was dropped in 2004 after the accuser refused to testify in a trial.

A separate civil suit was settled under terms kept private.

Bryant saw out his career with the Lakers, successfully branching out into the entertainment industry following his retirement.

In 2018, he won an Oscar for his animated short film “Dear Basketball”, a love letter to the sport which brought him fame and fortune.

– AFP

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
You May Also Like

代替察玛兰尊 东姑麦文任马国首位女大法官

马来西亚首相署办公室于5月2日公布,委任东姑麦文成为马国首位联邦法院首席女大法官。 首相署办公室昨日发文告指出,马国国家元首接获首相的劝告,并咨询马来统治者理事会后,御准委任东姑麦文出任联邦法院首席大法官一职,委任即日起生效。 东姑麦文受委取代在4月12日退休的前任大法官察玛兰尊。 惟东姑麦文的宣誓就职仪式还未定,有待国家元首择定日期后,在国家王宫进行。 东姑麦文于2006年出任司法专员,过后受委为高庭法官。她在2013年耀升成为上诉庭法官,并在三年后的2016年11月受封 “拿督” 勋衔。 去年11月26日,她正式受委为联邦法院法官,就任半年后的今年5月,正式成为联邦法院首席女大法官。 总检署对东姑麦文能力有信心 总检察长汤米托马斯祝贺东姑麦文成为联邦法院大法官,并对她的能力表示有信心。 他表示,东姑麦文的就任,打破了妇女在司法领域的局限,也让马国朝共和联邦民主成熟国再迈进一步。 他指出总检察署相信东姑麦文的领导能力,能够促进司法的独立性,并且能够善用其数年的任期,推行有必要的改革。…

Unauthorised trap used by contractor: AVA on death of stray dog

By Howard Lee The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) has responded…

工人党劳动节向医疗人员致谢 放眼后冠病时代对工友辅助措施

工人党认为,今年的五一劳动节有别以往,新加坡此时必须全力抗疫,受到疫情影响,也可能面对自独立以来最严重的经济衰退。 该党在五一劳动节发文告,祝福和全力支持前线医疗人员,“举国上下对您们的牺牲奉献无以回报”。 与此同时,该党也关注那些在非必要领域服务的工友和自顾人士。在阻断措施下不少人的收入都受到影响,更何况并非所有人的工作性质都适合在家工作。故此,该党呼吁全国人民齐心对抗当前疫情。 该党分析,在冠病疫情冲击前,我国去年的GDP增长就已减弱至0.7巴仙。再者,也面对工业4.0的颠覆、地域性政治紧张、以及全国供应链受影响等课题。 放眼冠状病毒19疫情危机后,工人党倡议以下措施以扶助工友: 随着各行业领域迅速颠覆,应有更灵活的措施让工友们持续成长。过去工人党也倡议设立冗员保险(Redundancy Insurance)让工友们能从危机中回缓。 此外,也应让公积金有更好的回报;或允许可提取户头中超过最低存款额的部分公积金,作为紧急资金。 工人党呼吁更公平对待工友,不会因为性别、种族或身为新加坡公民受到歧视。对于那些仰仗组屋作为退休计划的国人,也应支持合理的组屋转售价值。 该党也呼吁,应为那些为家户创造就业机会的企业家提供支持,透过培训和激励措施投资于人民和本土公司,以期他们不会因为生活成本感到负担过重,而得以有足够信心抓住商机、勇于冒险和创新。 该党也不忘提醒,我们同样也必须对来到我国工作的外籍工人负起责任,提供他们体面、有尊严的生活和工作条件。

印度司法程序严重延宕 新印商贸关系是否应更谨慎?

日前,《彭博社》于周二发表一篇文章,强调在印度做生意是多么困难,尤其是他们臭名昭著的司法程序,更是出了名的延宕。这样的延宕严重影响了企业的发展,甚至是损毁了双方的交易。 到底印度在司法程序上,其延宕程度到什么地步?印度最高法院最近颁布一项裁决,也揭示了其严重的延宕程度。一个于1982年将涉嫌伪造姜黄的案件,竟然拖至38年后才完成所有的司法程序,更离奇的是,最终仅被判一个月监禁和500元卢比(约6.70元新币)的罚款。 据了解,该案件在十年后,最高法院撤销了被告的定罪,而且两个下级法院花了约14年的时间才作出判决。 尽管该案看似相当离谱的司法程序,但它也非特别案例。目前印度的三级司法系统中,有近4千万个案件仍在待审中。而在印度的25个邦中的各个高级法院,已有逾17万3千个案例已超过20年,即每个州属平均可能将会有7千宗案例是逾20年以上的待审案件。甚至有近一半的案件已待定逾30年,这还不包括少于20年的待定案件。 印度也被世界银行列为倒数第15位,比巴基斯坦、叙利亚和塞内加尔还要糟糕。若没有一个良好有效的法律制度监督合同的进行,合同的法律效益等于无效,而且当有人违反合同时,也无法即时得到反响。 印度的延宕臭名昭彰,为何我国仍坚决加入CECA? 长期的司法延宕让印度最大的公司趁虚而入,完成许多大规模的交易,如综合健保控股(IHH Healthcare)试图取代印度富通医疗服务集团(Fortis Healthcare Ltd),却因日本制药公司第一三共株式会社(Daiichi Sankyo)申请的庭令而遇阻。 第一三共和富通保健的创办人辛格兄弟对簿公堂,印度最高法院下令IHH暂缓收购交易。辛格兄弟当时也接受印度当局的欺诈调查。…