I think it's unfair to silence people because they might have a different feeling about an individual. I believe part of the problem with society is people just don't want to listen, or hear from anyone that doesn't share their beliefs. Why can't we all just try to be kind to one another?
The one that comes to mind for me is Magic. Obviously not dead, but most older NBA fans, and people in general, remember where they were when they heard he had hiv and was retiring immediately. Len Bias died from cocaine, so for me at least, not remotely the same. Drazen was so popular and loved in Europe, I'll bet that had a similar impact
Not necessarily. The last time I can recall shedding a tear when a celebrity died was when President John Kennedy was assassinated. In Kobe's case he was a rapist who got away with it. Paid his wife to remain with him with a Million dollar diamond ring. In addition his wife was warned by the other wives on the Lakers' team that he had lots of sex with groupies at road games. Not the upstanding citizen that a lot of people think.
So did the Blazers last night. Then, our opponent, Indiana, returned the favor by taking an 8 second back court violation and the game could continue with the Blazers taking the first shot, since they won the tipoff. Both teams paid their respects.
Why do I have the feeling that the family of the pilot is going to get a lot of vitriol from angry Kobe fans who blame the pilot for this?
Maybe. He seemed to be trying to turn that all around and was a loving father. Maybe he wasn't always upstanding. But, he and his daughter just died. I choose to have respect for that.
I keep hearing people say that the NBA should retire Kobe's number leaguewide. That just seems super excessive to me. Am I alone here?
The only number I've ever agreed with retiring league-wide, in any sport, was Jackie Robinson's. Unless you did something to transcend the game itself, I don't think a number should be retired league-wide. Kobe Bryant didn't transcend the game, shocking and untimely death or not. And if he did commit rape, the gesture would be awful. But that said, I seriously doubt it's anything the league is actually considering.
No, you're not alone. Kobe was a great player, but there have been lots of great players. The rape accusations tarnished him, in my view, but putting that aside, other than dying unexpectedly and young, what has Kobe done for the game that's worthy of special recognition that other greats before him didn't do? Wilt? MJ? Kareem? Jerry West? Oscar Robinson? Dr. J? LeBron?...
"Paid his wife to remain with him with a Million dollar diamond ring" What a slanted load of crap. "In addition his wife was warned that he had lots of sex with groupies at road games..." Hate to burst your bubble, but that is commonplace in this league. Doesn't make it right, but chances are one of your favorites has done the same.
Completely with you. I'm especially against those that say both 8 and 24 should be retired league wide. Kobe's one of the all-time greats and his death is tragic but why should the Blazers have to retire his number?
Kobe Bryant's helicopter pilot was given 'special clearance to fly at or below 2,500 feet in dangerous weather conditions' - relying only on his eyesight rather than instruments before the crash The helicopter carrying Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, left Santa Ana in Orange County shortly after 9am Conditions were not suitable for flying, according to Los Angeles police who grounded their own choppers Pilot was flying under visual flight rules (VFR), meaning he was relying on his ability to see terrain below him Around 9.20am, the helicopter circled for about 15 minutes east of Interstate-5, near Glendale, data shows Air traffic controllers held up the chopper for other aircraft for 11 minutes, before clearing it through Burbank The pilot, who was named as Ara Zobayan, could've contacted ATC and requested to switch to instrument flight rules (IFR), which would have allowed him to navigate through the clouds But when pilots fly under IFR, it can be time-consuming, especially in Southern California's busy airspace Aircraft continued under VFR and around 9.40am it turned west to follow US Route 101, the Ventura Highway Around 9.44am, the helicopter turned toward the southeast and climbed to more than 2,000 feet, in what appeared to be an attempt to put some space between helicopter and terrain It then descended and crashed into the hillside at about 1,400 feet, according to data from Flightradar24 Bryant 41, and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, were both killed in crash along with John Altobelli, 56, his wife, Keri, and daughter, Alyssa, who played on the same basketball team as Bryant's daughter Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley tweeted that Christina Mauser, a girls basketball coach, also died in crash The NBA legend's helicopter was only 17 miles from the Mamba Sports Academy when the crash occurred It's unclear where pilot was going to land in Thousand Oaks, but the nearest helipad to the 100,000-square-foot facility is at Amgen headquarters which is a little over six miles away from Mamba Sports Academy https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...illing-Kobe-8-circled-15-minutes-Burbank.html
Regardless of how you feel about someone, there is still the phrase "innocent until proven guilty". Until then it's just an allegation and the accuser in this case I'm sure got a huge payday. It's unfair of any of us to state as fact that he did this.