Kobe Bryant Dies in Helicopter Crash

[CaliforniaGlowin]

I live near where it happened.  The fog/clouds were SO THICK there should not have been any aircraft in the area.  A tragedy that should not have happened.

[SFGiants58]

7 minutes ago, DG_Now said:

 

I think a lot about that. I used to tell people Kobe was trash, the Lakers are garbage for sticking by him, and no one should ever root for him again.

 

One the one hand, Kobe was never convicted of anything and the matter was settled satisfactorily between all involved parties, so do we really need to have an opinion? On the other, rich people get away with they otherwise shouldn't. And on the third hand, can we expect rehabilitation; can people not be forgiven per se, but accepted for the damage they've done and the commitment they showed to be better? I don't know. Kobe's legacy prompts complicated questions.

 

I'll be honest; it's still tough to accept it actually happened and he's actually gone. Today's a rough one.

 

I do have to agree. He certainly rehabilitated himself and his reputation over the years, trying to better himself and learn from his mistakes. If anything, it's a positive example for how somebody can repair themselves from such an error. 

 

I also agree with what @Lights Out said. Any attempt to posthumously "cancel" him over those charges or say it invalidates his legacy is just garbage journalism and reflects a lack of understanding. It's complicated, it shouldn't be swept under the rug, and now is not the right time to discuss it.

[habsfan1]

9 minutes ago, CaliforniaGlowin said:

I live near where it happened.  The fog/clouds were SO THICK there should not have been any aircraft in the area.  A tragedy that should not have happened.

 

So someone rolled the dice, made the call to go along with the flight, take a chance, and then this happens?

[BBTV]

Just now, SFGiants58 said:

I also agree with what @Lights Out said. Any attempt to posthumously "cancel" him over those charges or say it invalidates his legacy is just garbage journalism and reflects a lack of understanding. It's complicated, it shouldn't be swept under the rug, and now is not the right time to discuss it.

 

I'll agree with this, and won't bring it up anymore.  It doesn't in any way invalidate his legacy and all the great things he did, but to your and DG's points, it did happen and shouldn't be forgotten, even if now's not the right time for it (and there may never be a right time now.)

[WSU151]

Just now, CaliforniaGlowin said:

I live near where it happened.  The fog/clouds were SO THICK there should not have been any aircraft in the area.  Should not have happened.

 

It was mechanical failure that doomed the helicopter. 

 

Local witness heard it sputtering, and the FAA would restrict the area if it were too dangerous. 

[tp49]

IIRC the particular helicopter involved can operate under IFR's while most other helicopters including the one KABC uses as an example are only operable under VFR's.  This is why the NTSB will investigate what happened.

[dfwabel]

Somewhat reckless speculation before NTBS arrives on the scene, the chopper was losing both altitude and speed while circling over Glendale for some reason as FlightAware illustrates.

[tp49]

1 minute ago, dfwabel said:

Somewhat reckless speculation before NTBS arrives on the scene, the chopper was losing both altitude and speed while circling over Glendale for some reason as FlightAware illustrates.

I noticed this too when I looked at the flightradar24 link you posted earlier.  Agreed let's see what NTSB finds out. 

[DEAD!]

3 minutes ago, BringBackTheVet said:

 

I'll agree with this, and won't bring it up anymore.  It doesn't in any way invalidate his legacy and all the great things he did, but to your and DG's points, it did happen and shouldn't be forgotten, even if now's not the right time for it (and there may never be a right time now.)

Yes, there may be no "perfect" time to mention it, but I have no issue that it is brought up now. It was a part of his life. I guess we feel sensitive about it because of the timing and the way he died

 Had Kobe been diagnosed with cancer and dies from that, would we arguing about the "timing" of bringing this up?

 

[GDAWG]

 

 

 

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

25 minutes ago, BringBackTheVet said:

You are correct about the rehabilitation aspect of life, and you never heard anything negative about him since.

 

Not only that, but Kobe became a passionate advocate for women in sports. Just a few days ago he made a comment about WNBA players who he thinks could play right now in the NBA. Whenever a woman eventually plays in the NBA, that will be part of Kobe's legacy.

 

È morto un brav'uomo.

[slapshot]

2 hours ago, sc49erfan15 said:

For Millennials, this is one of the more impactful celebrity deaths of our lifetime.

 

It's certainly one of the "I'll remember where I was when I heard" deaths, along with Princess Diana and Michael Jackson.

 

I was officiating a basketball game when I found out.

[Crabcake]

I'll echo the sentiments posted by previous posters that I'm not the biggest NBA fan or basketball fan, but everyone knew Kobe.  The biggest stars in the sports/entertainment world are those that you can immediately identify by their first name.  It gets thrown around a lot, especially when it comes to athletes, but Kobe really did transcend basketball.  41 is too soon.

 

Especially devastated for Vanessa Bryant and the other Bryant kids.  And as was also stated earlier, it's even more sickening to know that Gigi was killed.  If 41 is too soon to go, 13 is unspeakably too soon.  It'll feel wrong seeing Bronny and Zaire growing up knowing Gigi should've been associated with that group of NBA stars' kids too.

[Raptorman415]

4 minutes ago, slapshot said:

 

I was officiating a basketball game when I found out.

I was sitting at Culver’s with some friends when my buddy, out of the blue goes, “Kobe just f****** died.” We thought he was joking but then with a quick bing search, we find out the sad reality. RIP Kobe.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

1 minute ago, Raptorman415 said:

I was sitting at Culver’s with some friends when my buddy, out of the blue goes, “Kobe just f****** died.” We thought he was joking but then with a quick bing search, we find out the sad reality. RIP Kobe.

 

I was in a pub getting lunch, and saw the crawl on FS2 on a TV that didn't have it's aspect ratio set right, so all I could make out was "BREAKING NEWS" and maybe, kind of something about Kobe. I opened the ESPN app fearing the worst and then it was confirmed.

 

Watching ESPN right now and Mike Wilbon is talking about Kobe while the Pelicans/Celtics game is going on. It's probably the right thing to do. People like basketball, they like Kobe, and all these things are connected.

 

[AustinFromBoston]

Speaking of the Celtics, 

Pretty much sums it up better than I could. 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

This is more a thought than a story, but worth reading all the same:  https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/amp30668419/kobe-bryant-dead-at-41-obituary/?__twitter_impression=true

 

[habsfan1]

26 minutes ago, Raptorman415 said:

I was sitting at Culver’s with some friends when my buddy, out of the blue goes, “Kobe just f****** died.” We thought he was joking but then with a quick bing search, we find out the sad reality. RIP Kobe.

 

I was at work, found out during a 15 minute break on my Twitter, saw a headline that said Kobe Bryant dead, checked multiple sources, seemed legit but not conclusive, then posted here asking if it was real.

[YelichGraphics]

Does anyone remember the MVPuppet commercials where Lebron and Kobe were muppets and it was just Kobe making fun of Lebron for his ring total. That was my childhood. Not to mention watching him in the playoffs or Christmas or any other time I watched the NBA. This one hurt for sure,

[BBTV]

12 minutes ago, habsfan1 said:

 

I was at work, found out during a 15 minute break on my Twitter, saw a headline that said Kobe Bryant dead, checked multiple sources, seemed legit but not conclusive, then posted here asking if it was real.

 

So various news sources confirmed it, but you wouldn't believe it unless you read it on CCSLC?

 

Is this now CCSLCNN?