Wednesday marks the two-year anniversary of the tragic helicopter crash which claimed the lives of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others.
Former Lakers teammate Jordan Farmar spoke to CBSLA this week about his memories of Bryant.
“When my oldest daughter was born, and I have a picture which we framed of him, and have in the house, of him holding her and giving her a kiss on the cheek,” Farmar told CBSLA over Zoom. “Just how much he transitioned to being the ultra-fierce competitor to this soft, healthy, worldly guy. And I think his kids and his girls softened him up and made him that way.”
On Jan. 26, 2020, a helicopter carrying Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others crashed in heavy fog in Calabasas, killing all nine people aboard. Among those was 56-year-old John Altobelli, a longtime baseball coach at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, his 46-year-old wife Keri, and their 13-year-old daughter Alyssa. Also aboard was 38-year-old Christina Mauser a wife, mother, and basketball coach from Huntington Beach.
Bryant’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, is currently suing Los Angeles County over the sharing of personal cell phone photos by L.A. County Sheriff’s deputies and firefighters at the scene of the helicopter crash. If no settlement is reached, that federal trial is slated to start on Feb. 22.
Bryant’s lawyers claim the pictures of Kobe and Gianna’s bodies were passed around on 28 LA County Sheriff’s Department devices and others belonging to a dozen firefighters. Attorneys claim the photos were shown in bars and at an awards gala.
See NBA Kobe Bryant tribute here.
