Kobe’s memorial was more for parents than players & coaches.

They held a celebration of life Monday for Kobe Bryant, whose complicated life ended when he perished with his daughter and seven others in that horrific helicopter crash.

In life, Bryant was jaded in some respects — but everyone from Michael Jordan to Jimmy Kimmel to Beyoncé joined the thousands who came out to honor him and speak to what Kobe was truly all about. Bryant didn’t pursue popularity as much as possess pure determination to be the best in whatever he chose. In the end, he became a role model through his excellent in basketball and also through his exceptional work in philanthropy.

Bryant was not a patient teenager when he turned pro out of high school, as Jordan recounted weeping real tears. He was not an easy teammate, as Shaquille O’Neal touched on during his two minutes at the podium. He was not an easy child, as a public split with his own parents documented over the years. But he was, apparently, a superior family man.

Dedicated first to his wife Vanessa and three daughters — particularly the beloved Gigi who died with him — Bryant wanted to coach his girls, to teach them the lessons he struggled with when he did not take coaching easily as a player.

With a daughter so interested in the game that he dominated, Kobe saw a chance for more representation of women excelling in sports. He found current and former players for Gigi to emulate, and Bryant’s own celebrity allowed him to do it in a high-profile way.

Father and daughter sat courtside at NBA games, at WNBA games and college games, where he could continue teaching her and helping her develop a passion for basketball, no matter who was playing or at what age. So, it kept coming back to the idea of being on a team – of working together to build something bigger and better than before.

Geno Auriemma, the championship coach at UConn, who was destined to mentor Bryant’s daughter in a few years, talked much more about the idea of “team” as a true family than “team” as in those privileged to play and coach the game. In memory of Kobe, Geno issued a challenge.

He acknowledged the thousands of talented women on hand at Staples Center and their jobs as parents and coaches. He asked those teams to give and get the same coaching Kobe relished with his own kid before their time ended way too soon. He asked for a legacy to continue, and for new paths to be forged.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Related Stories
‹
Chansky's Notebook: Bailing Out
Roy Williams probably had reasons for the soft statements. Carolina fans reacted strongly to the video of a team party after the win over Duke. Only Armando Bacot and Day’Ron Sharpe were in the video, but a statement from players and managers said it was supposed to be a closed event that other students and […]
Chansky's Notebook: Please, Go In!
UNC men's basketball faces what is an early season must-win at Georgia Tech. Art Chansky says a look at the statistics is painful, but not terminal.
Chansky's Notebook: Leaky Steps Up
Dean Smith used to say he’ll be happy with a one-point win. The legendary UNC basketball coach struggled spiritually between playing well according to his teachings, regardless of outcome, and winning no matter how poorly you play. Since his job was to win and he was so competitive, he chose the latter. If he was […]
Chansky's Notebook: Rock(et) Star
Ben Kiernan was UNC’s MVP of the Notre Dame game. When Mack Brown went over the 31-17 loss, he gave mixed reviews to the two main branches of his Tar Heels’ play. He said the offense was good in the first half and then “went dead” in a scoreless second half. He praised the Tar […]
Chansky's Notebook: Goals and Ambitions
Garrison Brooks has both opportunity and pressure. On paper, the ACC looks as weak as it has been in some time due to widespread losses to graduation and early departures to the NBA, and no sure-shot superstars in the incoming recruiting classes. A beneficiary of this development is Brooks, the Carolina senior who was second-team All-ACC last year and earned the league’s […]
Chansky's Notebook: A COVID Debate
Clemson was livid that Florida State wouldn’t play the game. Let’s be lawyers, and make a case for each of the teams that did not play its scheduled game over the weekend. Clemson had traveled to Florida State when it learned a player with mild symptoms who had practiced with the team all week tested […]
Chansky's Notebook: Draft Dodgers
Carolina and Duke players have lost ground in the NBA draft. Like everything else with sports in the COVID era, the NBA draft goes off tonight after being postponed for five months. And if you look at the various mock draft boards, certain things jump off your screen. First of all, about half the names […]
Chansky's Notebook: A Two-Thirds Bet?
What if Phil Mickelson and Mack Brown amended their bet? With the Masters being moved back to this weekend due to COVID, perhaps the three-time champion should revisit the fun bet he made with Carolina’s football coach back in 2003. The famed lefthander was still seeking his first Green Jacket when he partnered with the Texas football coach at the […]
Chansky's Notebook: Kudos To Carolina
UNC teams did a commendable job beating the odds. Who among us thought the ACC would be playing football and other fall sports last summer? With the pandemic upon us and the medical experts still learning, the seasons looked like a long shot. While other conferences pumped the breaks and/or called off football, the ACC […]
Chansky's Notebook: Extra Motivation
Carolina’s schedule could be working to its advantage. When the COVID-revised list of games came out, it looked troublesome for the Tar Heels with Virginia Tech and Florida State basically bookending Notre Dame and Miami with four rivalry games in a row right in the middle. Coaches usually don’t like that because it takes a […]
›