Given the national outpouring of grief, you’d think it was Mike who died.
Kobe Bryant, the NBA MVP who had a 20-year career with the Lakers, was killed Sunday when the helicopter he was traveling in crashed and burst into flames in the hills above Calabasas. His daughter Gianna, 13, was also on board and died along with seven others.
(Los Angeles Times, January 27, 2020)
No doubt his daughter’s death compounds the tragedy of his. And my heart goes out to his family and the loved ones of the others who perished.
I’m just bemused by the beatification of Kobe. Hell, the Washington Post is even forbidding any mention of his most open and notorious sin:
The Washington Post has suspended a journalist after she tweeted about Kobe Bryant’s historic sexual assault case shortly after the basketball player and his daughter died in a helicopter crash.
(The Guardian, January 27, 2020)
Incidentally, I should note here that I fully intended to eschew commenting on Kobe’s death. But after reading about the suspension of this journalist, Felecia Sonmez, I felt moved to do what little I could to stand in solidarity with her. It might help to bear this in mind as you read on …
As it happens, I have written many commentaries on Kobe. They include “And the Oscar Goes to…,” March 5, 2018 (Yes, after winning 5 NBA rings, this lucky bugger won an Oscar), “Endgame for Kobe Bryant,” January 28, 2015, and “10 More Women Accuse Bill Cosby of … Rape,” April 23, 2005. The last of these includes the following reference to his sexual assault case, which Sonmez actually had the journalistic balls to mention:
Many court observers assumed this suit would be settled with financial dispatch, following the precedent Kobe Bryant set when he paid off his accuser (for what ultimately proved to be a $5-million romp!). …
Kobe had only one ‘disgruntled’ groupie to payoff. Moreover, his wife sparkled with understanding and support – flashing that $4 million diamond ring he tendered to shield her from public humiliation.
Except that, according to the Post, such references should now be whitewashed.
Meanwhile, by any objective criteria, Kobe does not even rank among the “10 Greatest NBA Players of All Time.” Because, according to no less a sports authority than ESPN’s Bleacher Report (October 2, 2013), those players, in descending order, are:
- Michael Jordan
- Bill Russell
- Magic Johnson
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- Larry Bird
- LeBron James
- Wilt Chamberlain
- Tim Duncan
- Shaquille O’Neal
- Hakeem Olajuwon
And don’t get me started on the #GirlDad memes, which have gone viral. Suffice it to know that, if I were going to give any celebrity a medal for being adorable (in public) with his daughters, I would have given it to Barack Obama long ago. But I digress …
Because here is what I really find so off-putting about this and similar outpourings of grief in this age of social media (think Prince and Whitney – especially her eerily similar circumstances):
The expression of condolences these days seems intended more to draw attention to the person tweeting them than to comfort the person (who should be) receiving them.
But there’s something profoundly dehumanizing in people thinking that no thought, expression, or deed – no matter how personal or intimate – has any redeeming value unless it’s posted on social media.
I realize, of course, that trying to correct this cultural trend is even more quixotic than trying to win the war on drugs.
(“Hey Moron, Personal Tweet Is…an Oxymoron,” The iPINIONS Journal, March 6, 2015)
In other words, nothing would have made some of the condolences “friends” tweeted about Kobe’s passing more complete than a selfie of them posing next to his crash site.
I’m sure Kobe was a terrific father, teammate, mentor, and friend. I’m just equally sure the sports world is filled with men who are more so.
Which brings me back to my opening point. Because, more than any player in any sport in modern times, Michael “Be Like Mike” Jordan personifies all the qualities people are now attributing to Kobe. As Kobe himself might say, keep it real, y’all.
Farewell, Mamba.
Related commentaries:
the Oscar…
Endgame…
10 more women…
Whitney…
Prince…
hey moron…