The tragic death of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was extremely difficult for all his friends and fans of him to deal with. But nobody had it tougher than his wife, Vanessa Bryant, who lost her husband and her daughter Gianna.
Vanessa has shown tremendous strength and courage throughout the time since that tragic day, continuing his legacy through different businesses and foundations and also handling legal issues.
Bryant had filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Los Angeles County Fire Department due to photos taken at the site of the helicopter crash and shared amongst others. However, on Monday, Kobe’s birthday, a jury ruled in favor of Vanessa Bryant and Chris Chester, who also lost his daughter and wife in the crash, awarding them $16 and $15 million, respectively, via TMZ Sports:
Vanessa Bryant has won her lawsuit against Los Angeles County … after a jury of ten decided she has suffered and will continue to suffer severe emotional distress as a result of the death scene photos captured on the cell phones of 8 L.A. County Sheriff’s deputies — photos she fears will someday surface publicly. That fear was the basis of her lawsuit.
The jury awarded Vanessa $16 million. Chris Chester — who lost his daughter and wife in the helicopter crash — was awarded $15 million.
This lawsuit came about after it was discovered that deputies at the crash scene had taken photos of Bryant and shared them with friends, family, and random people at a bar. Vanessa Bryant was afraid of these pictures surfacing someday publicly.
Considering the number of private pictures that eventually get leaked to the public these days, that concern is entirely understandable. And it is unfathomable for a wife to possibly re-live such a tragic day.
Hopefully, this legal victory will allow Vanessa Bryant to move forward and focus on other things aside from the possibility of these pictures being leaked to the public. Dealing with the loss of a husband and daughter is tough enough, and ideally, she will now be able to concern herself with continuing the positive impact Kobe Bryant had on so many.
Stephen Curry recalls impressing Kobe Bryant early in his career
It seems like any player who played with or against Lakers legend Kobe Bryant has some story about him, including a current legend in the making in Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry.
Curry recalled impressing Kobe in his second season, making a move in front of the Lakers’ bench, which caused Kobe to utter a compliment that was caught on TV cameras. Curry admitted to not realizing it in real-time but being sent the clip afterward and calling it a “Wow! Moment.”