After graphic photos of the late NBA player Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Byrant surfaced online, the star’s wife Vanessa Byrant opened up about her fears.
January 26, 2020, was a dark day for the world.
NBA great, Kobe Bryant, and his thirteen-year-old daughter, Gianna Bryant, were killed when their helicopter crashed into a California hillside.
It had started as a routine trip to one of Gianna’s basketball games.
Kobe, forty-one, and his daughter, who was herself a budding basketball player, were accompanied in the private helicopter by Orange Coast College baseball coach, John Altobelli, his wife, Keri, their teenage daughter, Alyssa, Sarah Chester, and her daughter, Payton; and Christina Mauser, an assistant coach.
Many believed that Gianna was set to follow in her father’s footsteps.
From childhood, she would participate in the team warm-ups, and, going by her skill displayed on the court, she was set to have an illustrious basketball career ahead of her.
Their flight took off in clear skies in Orange County…
But it eventually encountered fog so thick that it nearly blinded drivers on the freeway. Visibility was so poor, in fact, that the Los Angeles Police Department had grounded its fleet of helicopters.
In his last message before the crash, the pilot told air traffic control he was climbing to avoid a cloud layer…
And witnesses on the ground reported seeing the helicopter flying through a layer of clouds and fog seconds before it crashed.
It has since emerged that the helicopter fell at a rate of about twenty-three miles per hour…
And slammed into the hill in a “high-energy impact crash,” according to the N.T.S.B.
Footage from the aftermath of the crash was quick to circulate online…
And, even more quickly, the rumors regarding Kobe and Gianna started to emerge.
It was truly harrowing…
Not only because Kobe opted for helicopters as his most regular use of transport, but that the very aircraft that had crashed had actually transported him to his last ever Lakers game in 2016.
The tributes were quick to flood in from all over the globe…
But, of course, all focus was quickly directed to Kobe’s surviving wife and daughters.
He left behind his wife, Vanessa Bryant, and their 3 remaining daughters, Natalia, Bianka, and Capri.
In the aftermath of the accident, Vanessa wrote on Instagram: “I’ve been reluctant to put my feelings into words. My brain refuses to accept that both Kobe and Gigi are gone. I can’t process both at the same time. It’s like I’m trying to process Kobe being gone but my body refuses to accept my Gigi will never come back to me. It feels wrong.”
A month on from the tragedy, Vanessa gave her first public speech.
Friends, family, former teammates, and legions of fans packed the Staples Center as Vanessa said goodbye to her husband and daughter.
“Babe, you take care of our Gigi – I got Nani, BB, and Coco. We’re still the best team.”
Since Kobe and Gigi’s deaths, things have undeniably difficult for their surviving family.
During that time, Vanessa has been suing the LA police department for emotional distress after it was discovered officers at the crash site had taken and shared pictures of the human remains at the site.
Following on from her lawsuit, Vanessa has shared the moment she found out about the tragic crash…
During a Zoom testimony, she recalled the events that took place prior to her finding out about their deaths.
According to a transcript obtained by The New York Times, Vanessa said her assistant informed her of the helicopter accident at 11:30 am…
“[Our assistant] told me that there was an accident and that there were five survivors,” Vanessa said. “And I asked her if Gianna and Kobe were okay. And she said she wasn’t sure. She didn’t know.”
Around the same time Vanessa was told of the accident, TMZ had already released the news of Kobe’s death…
Vanessa explained that she tried to call her husband multiple times: “I called my mom and I asked her to spot me with my daughters Bianca and Capris. I told her I needed her to get to the house. I needed to get to LA.”
She continued…
“As soon as I was on the phone with my mom, I was holding onto my phone, because obviously I was trying to call my husband back, and all these notifications started popping up on my phone, saying, ‘RIP Kobe. RIP Kobe. RIP Kobe.'”
After being innundated with worrying social media posts, Vanessa picked her daughter Natalia up from acting class and headed to LA…
“I picked [Natalia] up and I told her that Daddy and Gigi were in an accident. Not to worry. ‘I’m sure they’re fine because there are five survivors. And I’m sure Daddy and Gigi are fine,'” she said.
According to Vanessa, police wouldn’t give her any information about the crash, and instead told her to drive to the police station in Malibu closest to the crash site…
Over an hour and a half later at 1:30 pm, Vanessa and Natalia were finally given an update on the crash, where Sheriff Alex Villanueva informed them of the devastating news that they had both died.
After leaning of their tragic deaths, Vanessa told the sheriff…
“If you can’t bring my husband and baby back, please make sure no one takes photographs of them. Please secure the area.”
After which he told her: “All is good. The area is secure. There’s an umbrella over the area.”
During the deposition, LA County lawyers asked Vanessa to describe what “emotional distress” has been caused and whether she’s personally seen the disturbing pictures taken…
“Emotional distress means that not only do I have to grieve to the loss of my husband and child, but for the rest of my life I’m going to have to fear that these photographs of my husband and child will be leaked,” she said.
Vanessa went on to say…
“I do not want my little girls or me to ever have to see their remains in that matter. Nor do I think it’s right that the photographs were taken in the first place because it’s already tough enough that I have to experience this heartache and this loss.”
January 26th, marked 2 years since the tragic deaths of Kobe and Gigi.
And thousand of people around the world honored the anniversary of their deaths by paying tribute.
One artist decided to honour the anniversary of their deaths by creating a statue of Kobe and Gigi and placing it at the site of the crash.
Dan Medina, an artist, created the 160-pound bronze temporary figure of Kobe and Gigi, TMZ reports.
The statue depicts Kobe stood in a Lakers uniform with his arm around Gigi smiling down to her.
Lamar Odom also paid tribute to Kobe with a post on Instagram
Odom shared a video of himself reflecting on the time he spent with Kobe.
The NBA also unveiled a newly designed Kobe Bryant trophy that will be awarded to the Kia NBA All-Star MVP.
Announcing the trophy on Twitter, the NBA wrote: “The new Kobe Bryant Trophy awarded to the Kia NBA All-Star MVP further celebrates its namesake, with intricate details holding dual meanings, both for NBA All-Star and Bryant’s legendary career, which include the following.”
The base of the trophy has been created with 8 sides to “represents the 8 decades of NBA All-Star Games & is a nod to Bryant’s No. 8 jersey number.”
“The 18 stars around the trophy represent his 18 All-Star selections. The base height of 2 inches is a nod to Bryant’s 2002 Kia NBA All-Star MVP,” they tweeted.
The first level of the trophy has twenty-four stars which all “represent each All-Star in the game and Bryant’s No. 24 jersey number.”
“The 7-inch height is a nod to Bryant’s 2007 Kia NBA All-Star MVP.”
The second level has been created with 10 stars which represent the All-Star Game starters and is 9-inchs tall which is “a nod to Bryant’s 2009 Kia NBA All-Star MVP.”
While the third level has 5 stars to “represent the unity of an NBA team and Bryant’s five NBA championships.”
It’s height of 11-inch “is a nod to his 2011 Kia NBA All-Star MVP.”
And finally, it’s fourth level has a single star that represents “the star of stars and Bryant’s Kia NBA MVP Award in the 2007-08 season.”
“The 2-inch height of the final star represents Bryant’s two Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP awards (2009, 2010).”
Victor Solomon, who designed the trophy, said in a post on Instagram that he “couldn’t be prouder to unveil” the trophy.
Vanessa Bryant even praised it, as in a post on Instagram she wrote: “I love everything this trophy represents, all of my husband’s hard work and dedication ~ Mamba Mentality.”
And now, the doting mother has spoken out against footage of her late husband and daughter’s remains.
Vanessa recalled the day of the heartbreaking crash and said she knew something was wrong when Kate, the family’s assistant, repeatedly knocked on the door at 11.30 am that morning.
According to UNILAD, Kate then asked Vanessa where the children were, before telling her that her husband’s helicopter had crashed.
On August 19, the mother delivered a heart-wrenching account in court to a Federal Court in support of her lawsuit against Los Angeles County…
Who she is suing over allegations the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department allegedly shared photos of the victims of 2020’s helicopter crash.
“I walked in and asked where they were. I was repeatedly asking. They just stared at me. ‘Where are they? Where are they?'” she said.
Vanessa then said she’d never experienced a panic attack like that before…
“I never had a panic attack before this. I don’t ever want to see my babies in that way,” she said.
Vanessa told the court that on the morning of the accident she visited the Lost Hills Sheriff Station and asked Sheriff Alex Villanueva to make sure the Calabasas crash site was protected from the paparazzi.
“If you can’t bring my babies back, can you please secure the area?” she recalled.
However, things turned slightly bitter when she found out that the first responders had shared crash site photos with the Los Angeles Times.
And Vanessa had a befitting reply to them…
“I trusted them not to do these things,” she said.
She later added that the first responders who allegedly took photos of Gianna took advantage that her daddy wasn’t there to protect her, and she said: “He was at the morgue.”
While Kobe’s body was found on the day of the crash, Gianna’s wasn’t recovered until the day after.
Vanessa also confessed how she felt when she arrived at the Lost Hills Sheriff Station near the crash site…
She told the court that she was taken to a small room at the back of the station when she wanted to see her late husband and daughter.
And her next statement is breaking everyone’s hearts…
“I don’t ever want to see these photographs. I have three little girls!” she said.
“I want to remember my husband and my daughter the way that they were,” Vanessa added.
Heartbreaking!