Kobe.
Written to Speak Blog.
Written by Tanner Olson.
@writtentospeak
Kobe.
@writtentospeak
She was slowly waking up from a Sunday nap when I told her.
I didn’t want to, because that meant it was true.
I didn’t want this to be the first thing she heard as she woke, but I couldn’t say anything else.
It was on the tip of my tongue as the heartbreaking news was at the tip of my fingers.
“Kobe died.”
Those were the only words my mind knew.
My voice was shaky and unsure, but the unwanted truth was solid and sure.
“What.”
That's all she said.
It wasn’t a question.
It was a statement.
It was final.
The rest of the afternoon I sat quiet on the couch.
Someone once told me that they know something wasn't right when I was quiet.
Something wasn’t right.
Kobe died.
His daughter, Gianna died.
7 others died.
Payton and Sarah Chester, Christina Mauser, Alyssa Altobelli, John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, and Ara Zabayan.
My mind keeps reminding me that life is fragile.
It is too fragile.
Most beautiful things are fragile.
Death finds us when we aren’t ready and leaves behind grief, questions, and wondering.
I’ve been trying to work all week, but I keep finding myself watching Kobe highlights and interviews.
Game winners.
Reverse dunks.
Incredible blocks.
MJ fadeaways.
Insane passes.
Kobe changed the game of basketball forever.
And he also changed me.
He changed how I watched the game, played the game, and respected the game. In high school we would stay up late watching his games only to try and recreate what he did the next morning.
But it went beyond how I played and watched the game of basketball. .
The way Kobe approached the sport has changed how I navigate this life.
His care, mentality, and work ethic has changed how I work, how I love, how I react, and how I'll continue.
His unfortunate death has ignited something within me once again.
To me, Kobe was more than a basketball player.
He didn’t know me, but I knew him.
Or at least, what he would let us know of him.
I don’t think you have to know someone to mourn their loss or to feel their absence or to be changed by them.
Kobe leaves behind a well documented legacy.
His story is one of grace, failure, and redemption with a recurring theme of continuing.
You can Google his name and find thousands of stories, stats, and interviews.
He skipped college and went straight into the NBA, playing for one of the most well-known teams in all of sports, The Los Angeles Lakers.
In 2003 Kobe Bryant was accused of rape. And as much as we hate that this is part of his life, I am sure he hated it more. And for as much as we hurt for the victim, her family and friends, and the Bryant family, Kobe did not let this be the final chapter of his story. Yes, he was far from the hero in this story, but the story continued. And the story changed as he fought to remain.
Bryant was a decorated basketball player, having won 5 NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers.
In 2018, he won an Oscar for best animated short film.
Kobe was a humanitarian, business man, creative, and storyteller.
He was a husband.
He was a dad to four daughters and we could clearly see he loved being a girl dad.
He was a human being who lived in the spotlight from a young age.
He was more than a basketball player. He was more than what the world knew him for.
Maybe Kobe’s life is a reflection of grace.
Maybe Kobe’s life is an invitation to wrestle with cancel culture. Maybe Kobe’s life shows us that our mistakes don’t and should not define us. Maybe Kobe’s life teaches us to continue through pain, failure, setback, and celebration.
We never know when death will arrive.
We never know how death will arrive.
But it arrives.
Never how it should.
But it arrives.
Kobe’s death has sparked something in me and maybe in you as well.
It has sparked sadness. It has sparked the waking questions of the unknown. It has sparked me to be quick to love and slow to do anything else.
Note from the writer:
I know the world does not need another article or story about Kobe Bryant.
There are so many beautiful, honest, and heartbreaking words that have been written in his memory.
But how do you honor someone that meant something to you?
How do you mourn their loss?
How do you thank them?
How do you move forward?
I think you do the thing you love in their honor.
Maybe that’s it.
With love,
Tanner Olson
Written to Speak
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Tanner Olson is a writer, speaker, poet, spoken-word artist, & creator of Written to Speak.
He created Written to Speak to share hope & announce love.