Thousands Expected To Attend Kobe Bryant Memorial In Los Angeles
Some 20,000 mourners are expected to pack Staples Center in Los Angeles on Monday for the public memorial honoring legendary former NBA player Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, who were killed along with seven other people in a helicopter crash last month.
The ceremony called "A Celebration of Life" began at 10 a.m. local time and is expected to be attended by luminaries not just from the world of basketball, but also from sports, entertainment and politics.
The memorial's organizers and members of law enforcement urged fans wanting to pay their respects to the Bryant family to do so from afar if they don't have a ticket. The jumbo screens outside the arena will go dark. Fans are encouraged to watch the memorial online or on TV, where it is being carried live by many news outlets.
"We kindly ask that all fans without a ticket to Monday's Celebration of Life for Kobe & Gianna Bryant to please stay home and watch with family and friends. The Celebration of Life will not be shown on screens outside of STAPLES Center or L.A. LIVE," the Staples Center tweeted on Sunday.
For those in attendance at the Staples Center — which some have dubbed "the house that Kobe built" — or watching from beyond the walls, the ceremony is expected to be infused with symbolism from the lives of the LA Lakers legend and his 13-year-old daughter, who was known as Gigi and was a budding basketball wunderkind in her own right.
The date chosen for the memorial — Feb. 24, or 2/24/20 — is a combination of their jersey numbers. She wore No. 2, while Bryant wore No. 24 in the latter part of his 20-season career with the Lakers.
Even the ticket prices, for those who could get them, had connections to those jersey numbers, according to the Los Angeles Times. Some tickets were going for "$24.02, two for $224 or $224 each."
ESPN reports that 80,000 people applied for tickets. Proceeds will go to the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation which raises money to provide sports education and training services for young women. The foundation was originally established as the Mamba Sports Academy, but Bryant's widow announced that the name was changed to honor their daughter.
"Because there is no #24 without #2, we have updated the Mamba Sports Foundation to now be called the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation," Vanessa Bryant wrote on her Instagram page announcing the name change.
Kobe Bryant gave himself the moniker "Black Mamba" after a character in the Quentin Tarantino film Kill Bill.
Bryant and his daughter were traveling to Gigi's basketball game in a Sikorsky S-76B helicopter, when it crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, Calif., on Jan. 26. All eight passengers and the pilot were killed.
The Bryants were laid to rest in a private ceremony in Southern California on Feb. 7.
Investigators are still working to determine the cause of the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board said in its investigative update this month that the chopper's rotors were both powered and turning at the time of impact, which it said indicates "the engines showed no evidences of uncontained or catastrophic internal failure."
Photos taken shortly after the crash show conditions were foggy in the hills above Calabasas, but as NPR's Russell Lewis has reported, the final investigative findings are not expected for at least a year.
Bryant, with his rare mix of speed, agility and an elite level of competitiveness, is considered one of the best to ever play the sport of basketball.
He was drafted into the NBA straight out of high school at age 17. He spent his entire pro career with the Lakers, helping power the team to three consecutive NBA titles along with another all-time great, Shaquille O'Neal, in 2000, 2001 and 2002.
Bryant helped win back-to-back titles for the Lakers in 2009 and 2010. He retired from the NBA at the conclusion of the 2015-'16 season, scoring 60 points in his final game.
His career is not without controversy, however. In 2003, a 19-year-old woman accused the basketball star of rape. The criminal case ended in 2004 after the woman refused to participate in trial. The parties settled a civil lawsuit out of court in 2005, with Bryant issuing an apology but not an admission of guilt. [Copyright 2020 NPR]
