Feb. 5 is National Girls and Women in Sports Day. This year, it is incredibly somber as we continue to mourn the loss of those lost in the devastating helicopter crash on Jan. 26 including rising star basketball player, Gianna Bryant; her father, National Basketball Association legend Kobe Bryant; her teammates, Alyssa Altobelli and Payton Chester; their parents John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli and Sarah Chester; one of their coaches, Christina Mauser; and the pilot of the helicopter, Ara Zobayan. The girls and their families were on their way to a basketball game for Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy girls’ team in Bryant’s personal helicopter when the accident happened.
In wake of the late NBA legend and his daughter’s death, hundreds of videos and pictures of Kobe and Gianna have surfaced showing how close their relationship was and how supportive Kobe was of women in sports after his retirement from his own career in the NBA.
In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, Kobe recalled how people continued to tell him that he and his wife, Vanessa, needed to have a son so that the Bryant family tradition/legacy could be continued in basketball, but then went on to explain how Gianna had already taken on that role, saying “You don’t need a boy for that.” Gianna had her eyes on someday attending the University of Connecticut and playing for the UConn Huskies Women’s Basketball Team, eventually going on to the Women’s National Basketball Association. You could see in Kobe’s facial expressions not only just how proud he was of Gianna and her strides in basketball, but of how proud he was to be a father of four girls.
In an interview with Gayle King, Women’s National Basketball Association star, Lisa Leslie discussed Kobe’s enthusiasm for women’s basketball.
‘”He was changing the mindsets of other men more than anybody else,” Leslie told CBS News. ‘“He’s validating us, if you will, these young ladies who are out there playing, the fact that he’s enjoying and being entertained by great basketball.”’
As a female sports fan, I am so incredibly proud of the strides that have been made in sports for women, not only in being able to participate in sports themselves but through the support of fans like Kobe Bryant. I only hope to continue to see women excel in sports and gain the attention and recognition of fans in the way that men’s sports do.
Today and everyday we will continue to remember not only the legacy of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, but of her teammates Alyssa Altobelli and Payton Chester, their parents and their coach Christina Mauser, for all that they contributed to women in basketball.