Kobe Bryant died on January 26, 2020 at the age of 41 in a tragic helicopter accident in Calabasas, a neighborhood of Los Angeles (California, USA). Along with him flew the second of his four daughters, Gianna Maria Onore, 13, and two other families and the pilot, who also perished in the accident. The loss of the basketball legend and his daughter shocked the whole world, who mourned his death during several commemorative events both at the school where the young woman studied and practiced the same sport as her father, and at the emblematic Staples Stadium of the Lakers in Los Angeles, where around 20,000 gathered to fire La Mamba Negra, star of the Lakers from 1996 to 2016.
More than 15 months after the tragedy, his widow, Vanessa Bryant, with whom the player had married two decades earlier, when she was 17 years old and he, 20, continues to show the same resistance and courage that he showed without hiding his tears. when she said goodbye to her husband and father to her daughters before the celebrities of music, sports and cinema and strangers who attended the funeral.
"There is no day that I do not have the impression that I will not survive the next one," he acknowledged in early March to
People
magazine.
.
now he focuses more than ever on his other three daughters, Natalia, 18, Bianka, four, and Capri, who will soon be two.
“My daughters help me smile despite the pain.
They give me strength.
My goal is to make Kobe, Gigi, Natalia, Bianka and Capri proud ”, he explained to the American publication.
In addition to being the current pillar of the Bryant family, Vanessa is also the main beneficiary of the fortune left by her husband, valued at 600 million dollars (about 550 million euros), according to
Forbes
.
His first action was to add little Coco, as his daughter Capri is affectionately nicknamed, in the athlete's will, because having been born just seven months before the fatal accident, she had not been included.
With this resolved, Vanessa now manages the millionaire inheritance with a heavy hand against the predators who seek their piece of the cake without mercy.
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This is the case of her own mother, Sofia Laine, who has filed a lawsuit against her daughter accusing her of not fulfilling what Kobe promised her in life, which was nothing more than taking care of her. She responded with a counterclaim in which she maintains that her mother tries to “extort money” on her, and explains that for 20 years, both she and her husband covered the expenses of their children's grandmother, including the family home in Newport Coast, a exclusive development in Orange County where it resides. “Earlier this year I was looking for a new home for her and a week later she was on television giving an interview in which she spoke disparagingly of our family, making false accusations while living for free in a Newport Coast development.Even after that interview, I was willing to offer my mother financial support for the rest of her life, but that was not enough for her, who has demanded five million dollars from me, a house and a Mercedes SUV-type vehicle, "said Vanessa. it's a statement.
It is not the only judicial front that has the widow of the player who wore the famous jersey with the number 24 during his last ten years on the court. And it is that this mother of a large family continues to lead the fight to clarify the circumstances of the accident in which her husband and daughter lost their lives. In his sights is the helicopter company where his family was traveling, whom he has sued for reckless homicide; and also the
sheriff
's
deputies
of Los Angeles, for spreading photos of the accident scene invading her privacy and causing "intentional emotional pain." This latest claim brought a lot of controversy because it got a judge to allow Vanessa Bryant to make public the names of those named, and also the defendant institutions such as Los Angeles County, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department and the city firefighters.
During this time, she has also taken over the reins of the companies that her husband managed. She is now in charge of managing the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation (the latter name incorporated after the accident in honor of her daughter Gigi), which supports the autonomy of young people in sports and finances the training of athletes with fewer resources. In addition, he is in charge of the multimedia company Granity Studios, a platform focused on disseminating audiovisual content related to creative and emotional stories from the sports field. It was through this channel that the basketball star wrote and developed
Dear Basketball
, the small documentary that won the Oscar for best animated short film in 2018. Also, from this platform, Bryant released several books, including his autobiography
Mamba Mentality: The Secrets of My Success
, a title that refers to the nickname on which he built his image and personal brand, La Mamba Negra.
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The legend of Kobe Bryant was a very valuable asset to the brands that sponsored him in life and now it is his widow who makes the decisions about these commercial contracts. Although some firms, such as Nutella and McDonald's, canceled their support after the rape allegations that pointed to the player in 2003, others such as Nike maintained their contract with the athlete even after he retired professionally. Vanessa's decision not to renew the contract with this sports brand, which expired on April 13, was precisely a great surprise.
According to some specialized media, this decision would be motivated by the fact that the equipment manufacturer limited access to Kobe products after his death, as well as by the lack of choice in children's sizes. They also point out that the company refused to offer the star a "perpetual" contract, as it could do with Michael Jordan or LeBron James. “Kobe products sell out in seconds. That says everything. I was looking forward to forging a lifelong partnership with Nike that reflects my husband's legacy, ”Vanessa recently told
ESPN
. Other media suggest that the basketball player was planning to create his own brand and this may be one of Vanessa's next plans.
Married for 20 years, with several ups and downs in their relationship - marred by infidelities and rape accusations - there is no doubt that Kobe and Vanessa Bryant, along with their four daughters, made a great team. A team that now, although with two fewer players, intends to continue the legacy of the legend of American sports. On and off the field.