In Memory of Kobe Bryant
Listen to our tribute to Kobe Bryant from the Faith Collides episode:
In Memory of Kobe Bryant
Photo: Vanessa Bryant / Instagram
January 26, 2020 is a day that will not be easily forgotten. Many will recall where they were, what they were doing, who they were with, when they first heard of the tragic helicopter crash in Calabasas that killed Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven other victims.
Tributes poured in from around the world in memory of Kobe Bryant’s legacy. Among the millions of fans who posted on social media, 29-year-old Arnold Chang’s tribute recalled how Kobe’s performance on the courts taught him perseverance through high school basketball tryouts, and inspired him to be the competitive athlete he is today.
At Faith Collides, we want to remember Kobe Bryant as not only an NBA legend, but also a dedicated husband and loving father. We want to recognize that it took a journey of mistakes, perseverance and faith that shaped him into the husband and father that he was by the time of his death.
Kobe did not start off with a perfect marriage. During his rise to fame with the Lakers, Kobe was 22 when he married 18-year-old Vanessa in 2001. In 2003, Kobe was accused of sexual assault, an allegation that could have halted his basketball career. While Kobe issued a public apology and reached a settlement with the accuser, his reputation was tarnished, and his marriage in ruins.
Upon reflections of the 2003 incident, Kobe who was not always outspoken about his Catholic faith did point to how his faith brought him through this difficult time. ESPN analyst Steven A. Smith asked Kobe what he learnt from the experience on The Quite Frankly Show in 2006. Kobe said,
“God is good”
And when pressed on how he knew “God was good,” Kobe responded,
“You can know it all you want, but until you have to pick up that cross that you can’t carry, and he picks it up for you and carries you and the cross, then you know.”
Furthermore, in an interview with GQ in 2015, Kobe shared more details behind how he was terrified of going to jail, and the turning point for how he handled the allegation. Kobe said a Catholic priest told him,
“Let it go. Move on. God’s not going to give you anything you can’t handle, and it’s in his hands now. This is something you can’t control.”
Kobe and Vanessa continued to go through peaks and troughs with family life. Vanessa had two girls, Natalia and Gianna, when she filed for divorce in 2011, citing “irreconcilable differences.” But in 2013, she called it off stating on Instagram that “we are looking forward to our future together.” After Kobe retired from the Lakers in 2015, they had two more girls, Bianka and Capri. Kobe also opened up in 2015 on Showtime Basketball’s All the Smoke about the commitment and persistence he had to learn to apply to his marriage with Vanessa, and stated:
“That’s all the beauty of it: having the persistence and determination to work through things — very, very tough things — and we’ve been able to do that.”
Kobe and Vanessa kept their wedding vows after 19 years, and got through the toughest times in marriage while facing public scrutiny. Far too often we read headlines about celebrity splits and failed marriages. So, we recognize it is worth remembering and celebrating the good fight Kobe had for his marriage and for his family.
Finally, our prayers and condolences go out to the families of all the victims of the January 26, 2020 helicopter tragedy. And as Stephen Colbert addressed the gap in helicopter protocol, we hope that their tragedy would result in changes to industry standards that may bring about more ease, comfort and truth should there be future incidences.