Helicopter Crash Kills Basketball Legend Kobe Bryant & His Daughter
January 28, 2020
Former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were among nine people killed in a helicopter crash that occurred Sunday morning in the fog-plagued hills of California.
The crash took place around 10 am, almost an hour after it had taken off, in the mountains of Calabasas, California. Seven other people, including Gianna’s teammates, their parents, the pilot, and her coach, were pronounced dead at the scene.
Kobe had four children, including Gianna, with his wife Vanessa Bryant. The eldest, Victoria, is 17 and his youngest is only seven months old.
Thousands of fans gathered near Staples Center and the crash site to pay tribute to Bryant’s passing. Bryant began his professional basketball career at age 18, after graduating high school. He spent 20 years playing for the Lakers, where he played in 18 all-star games and won five championships.
Millions of people, both young and old, have looked up to Bryant and felt impacted by his death. Wayne Franklin, a sophomore basketball player here at Wayne Hills, opened up about how Kobe’s death has affected him.
“The whole world was stumped because he had a great impact on the whole community. He was a great role model on and off the court,” Franklin stated.
“I’m not the biggest Kobe fan, but I had a lot of respect for him as a player and as a person,” Luke Kaplan, junior said.
Although officials have yet to release any statement on the cause of the crash, many pilots, including Robert Ditchey, say the helicopter should have never taken off in those weather conditions.
“They’re in the fog, and you’re down hugging the ground trying to fly up the highway and barely able to see it,’’ Ditchey said.
Officials say it will take a few days to assess the events that lead up to the deadly helicopter crash.
As tributes to the fallen basketball player poured in and news of his death made front-page headlines around the country, a few articles appeared reminding the public of Bryant’s brush with the law in 2003. He was charged with rape, but the accuser ultimately dropped the charges against the Lakers’ small forward and shooting guard. His accuser ultimately filed a civil suit but it was later dropped in exchange for an apology from Bryant.
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chai • Feb 14, 2020 at 10:12 AM
I believe that the media has responsibility for disclosing full information even though it might be a dark side of someone. Yes, Kobe Bryant’s death is tragic and he was a beloved and respected person, however, people should not just forget about this type of history since it is unfair to just forget about such a serious topic even though he has now died and many people may argue that his accomplishments outweigh his bad qualities. Not including this information is especially unfair to the victim of the rape case. As a girl myself, I would not have wanted people to forget this since it is a serious charge and is very traumatic for the victim. He may have died and many people want to respect his death, but history should be presented with all facts despite how beloved or popular someone is.
Justin Polsky • Feb 14, 2020 at 10:12 AM
In my opinion, I feel that Kobe’s rape allegation should not be discussed immediately following his death. Kobe Bryant served as an inspiration and a role model to many, so his fans deserve to acknowledge the positive things he has accomplished in his life. People should not focus on his rape charge while many are still grieving.
Jaein • Feb 14, 2020 at 10:11 AM
I think the article did a great job of staying neutral and avoiding potential controversy by staying away from strong word choice. This is especially seen at the end when the article brings up Bryant’s rape case that has been controversial in the media since his death. The article makes sure to just state the fact that “a few articles appeared reminding the public of Bryant’s brush with the law in 2003,” instead of giving an opinion to it (for instance, if the article said that these charges shouldn’t be forgotten, then that presents a bias whereas the article as it is written stays neutral).
Jenine Alsouqi • Feb 14, 2020 at 10:11 AM
I believe that all information in this article was rightfully presented. It conveys the information in a factual and logical manner, and is both accurate and trustworthy. Although I do believe that it is disrespectful to only discuss his negative actions right after his passing, this article was well-balanced in discussing both the positive and negative aspects of his life. We should let Kobe rest peacefully, and honor the huge impact that he has made, but after some time, we must also incorporate all aspects of his life, as it shows that no one is perfect. On another note, what I would change about this article, or even write in another article in the future, is more about the other passengers who passed, including Gianna. So many other lives were taken in this horrific accident, and we should honor them all. People don’t even know the names of the passengers besides Kobe and Gianna, and I think that it is as equally important to honor them as it is to honor Kobe.
Carly • Feb 14, 2020 at 10:11 AM
I feel that the inclusion of Bryant’s rape charges is not appropriate for an article about his death. The case was closed many years ago, thus it is not necessary to bring it up now. Kobe Bryant is no longer here to defend himself or tell his side of the story. Although large news outlets have shed light on the situation, I believe that in this sensitive time it should be left in the past.
Ava Oseback • Feb 14, 2020 at 10:10 AM
I do not think the inclusion of Kobe Bryant’s rape case was necessary for the purpose of the article. To me, this article was meant to inform the student body of the story behind Kobe’s death. This case occurred in 2003 and was ultimately closed because the victim did not want to testify. Therefore, the truth of this incident remains unknown and cannot and should not define him as a person.
Juliana Lee • Feb 14, 2020 at 10:10 AM
I think that the information in the last paragraph was needed because the whole purpose of the article is to inform us students of all things despite if it is “good or bad”. To be objective, an article must cover all sides of a topic so that the audience and readers can form their own opinion of the subject.
Joy Lee • Feb 14, 2020 at 10:10 AM
I thought the last paragraph was eyeopening but at the same time, I don’t really think it was necessary since it kind of threw off what I believed the essence of the article was. I think it was a bit unsettling to read about the charges against Kobe after reading about the life he led.
Nick Biondo • Feb 14, 2020 at 10:10 AM
I think that it was the right thing to include the details about the rape case, as long as the statement shows respect for him and his family. It should also be 100% clear that the charges were dropped, and that there was never any concrete evidence to charge Kobe. Many including his family are still in the early stages of mourning his death, so this topic should be treated very carefully. It should not show any disrespect or take sides. I believe it was the right thing to include the details, as long as they just state the facts while still being respectful of Kobe and his family.
Katy Gorden • Feb 14, 2020 at 10:09 AM
I think it is important to know the full side of someone who was so prevalent in society and the media, but there is a difference between presenting the facts and taking it too far, to the point where it is similar to an attack on the person. In this article it is interesting to present this fact about Kobe, but in other cases, such as Gayle King’s interview, there was a point where it was unnecessarily too much. It is interesting to put this fact about him as the last point of information from the article, but it isn’t loaded or have any sense that it is an attack on Bryan’t character. When it comes to the media and the mass spread of information there is a time and place for when information such as the rape case should be brought out, but so close to his death and so long after the actual case, it is questioned why it was even brought up in the first place. Overall, the information is well presented in this article, but over done in many instances by the media.
Celine Kim • Feb 14, 2020 at 10:09 AM
While the media is completely justified in discussing all parts of Kobe Bryant’s life and legacy, it is also important to remember that he is a human, just like everyone else, and there are people who mourn his death. The addition of the rape charges was entirely unnecessary, especially with the amount of time that it was published after his death. By mentioning these rape charges, it interferes with the people’s mourning and can be regarded as an attack to his very legacy. If the media so chooses to cover these charges and this period of Kobe’s life that is entirely irrelevant at this point, then they should do so with respect to the people, and publish it after a respectable amount of time.
Dylan Misquita • Feb 14, 2020 at 10:09 AM
I believe it is important to remember everything about Bryant, and it certainly shouldn’t be forgotten that he had these charges against him. However, it should not tarnish any of the good things that he has done or the influence that he has had on people. The role of a media source should be to give readers the facts that they need to form their own opinions and should remain as unbiased as possible. Media sources should not opt to focus on certain aspects of Bryant’s life or prioritize some significant events over others, because that is what the readers are supposed to do using the facts given to them.
Cassandra Witten • Feb 14, 2020 at 10:08 AM
I feel that the media should not bring up Kobe’s past mistakes again because the case was resolved when he was alive. Kobe is no longer here to defend himself, and that would leave the responsibility to his grieving family, which in my opinion, is not right. There is no need for the media to bring up his past when what they should be focusing on is his legacy.
Daryna • Feb 14, 2020 at 10:08 AM
The last paragraph is an interesting addition to the article. I have not heard a lot about what is being reported about Kobe Bryant’s life apart from his death, and I think the news has a right to report the complete truth without any bias, even if not everyone agrees with it.
Jiwon Song • Feb 14, 2020 at 10:07 AM
In my opinion, i don’t think people should remind society about Kobe’s dark past about his charges on rape. I don’t think it’s respectful to Kobe’s friends and families as they are already going through a tough loss. Reminding the world about Kobe’s past does no good to anyone and only hurts Kobe’s close friends and family.
audrey • Feb 14, 2020 at 9:32 AM
I really like this article because it was very informative and showed different viewpoints throughout the article. I especially like how it included comments from people in the school and really showed the impact Kobe had on many people.
Noah Heller • Feb 14, 2020 at 9:31 AM
I was extremely surprised that this article presented the less positive side of Kobes career in mentioning the sexual assault allegations filed against him. However, I think it was the right thing to do as these allegations are still being talked about today and have affected people just as much as his spectacular basketball career has. It is simply mentioning both sides of the story.
Jack Gallipoli • Feb 14, 2020 at 9:28 AM
This was a well-written article and had good use of quotes from real people to display the impact that Kobe had. However, I do believe that the last paragraph was a bit out of place. This is because of the lack of transition used and the previous tone of the article, which portrayed him as a great player who commanded respect with his actions on and off of the court.
Val Woodside • Feb 14, 2020 at 9:28 AM
This is a great article in terms of accurately communicating the information about the accident. I’m not sure about that last paragraph, though. Although it is important to acknowledge that Kobe was not as perfect as everyone remembers him to be, that last bit of information seems a little bit out of place with the topic of the article.
Julia • Feb 14, 2020 at 9:28 AM
This is really a great article and it is really well written. Great job.