Kobe Bryant Discussion, Part Two

[mysticOscar]

people are tired of this BS, that was not the time, enough is enough

These people disgust me. I don't know her as a journalist/person nor her work, but I BET she's one of those social activists journalists that like to think she has the moral high ground on a lot of things but in fact her continual seeking of attention and virtue signalling on certain social issues clouds her judgment on even the most basic decency.

Does she deserve losing her job? Absolutely!!
Just because your a journalist does not give u a pass from using common sense, processionalism and basic decency....which she failed to do and as a consequence created a big backlash against her employers.

Interesting take. I was reading elsewhere and there is a lot of support for her. Losing her job over posting a link to an article after someone passes away?

Not saying I support her or what she did but consequences should be appropriate not over the top.

She represents the company that hired her. Most other occupation will give u the boot (rightly so) if u ruin there brand and reputation...WHY should she get an exception? What she did was insensitive, unprofessional and not journalism.

Don't sympathise with her too much...she's ruined other people's careers for a lot less.

https://reason.com/2019/08/23/im-radioactive/?amp

I am all for redemption, but this woman doubled down and had no realisation or awareness of what she did was wrong....she's so stuck up her own moral high ground

[Bolivar]

I just saw an amazing breakdown on /r/nba by someone who's a pilot himself

https://old.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/ev0ji5/helicopter_sikorsky_crashes_north_of_los_angeles/

Some final thoughts:

1. I do not do any of this analysis to pass judgement on the pilot heard in the video. It is rare that helicopter aviation is in the spot light like this and I just wanted to provide some context for what was happening. I have the deepest sympathies for the pilot, the passengers in the mishap and their loved ones.

2. Vertigo is a term you may hear that the pilot had during this mishap. Think of vertigo as being instantly drunk and unable to have your brain communicate function to your body. It can occur when you encounter clouds when you are not expecting it or believe that the horizon that you are referencing while flying is there when in reality it is not. I can see how that is confusing and there are many youtube videos that can show the effects of veritgo on pilots.

3. I have had incapacitating vertigo once while flying my helicopter and it was the scariest moment of my life. It was like nothing I have experienced before while flying and hope to never experience again. My motor functions and brain connection basically became disconnected and I was unable to tell if the aircraft was climbing / descending / turning / straight. It was at night and I went into the clouds at an area I was extremely familiar with. I was complacent to the mission I was conducting because I had done it so often and it nearly cost me my own life and the lives of 4 other people that night. I was saved by my copilot and his ability to use his training to get us back straight and level and talk me back onto the instrumentation.

4. I do not know if this pilot had vertigo or simply lost control of the aircraft. The bad weather, his intention to turn to the west and sudden departure to out of control flight (a climb to above 2000+ feet MSL and ultimately crash landing at 4000 feet per minute rate of descent) are indicators that some kind of spatial disorientation may have been a factor.

Long post, hope it was helpful if you were looking for some analysis on the recording.

Whatever the details may be (they will probably stay more or less unclear forever), it seems that having a pilot and a co-pilot is basically required in challenging weather conditions, if you want to avoid unnecessary risks. You can't control everything in the world, but that's one thing that can be controlled. No idea about "vertigo", but this also applies to using IFR or not using it, the co-pilot can watch for things that the pilot can not, at a given moment.

[Roy The Natural]

Ya that two times I've seen you in these Memorial threads it's been to called someone racist.

Where did I justify racism? In fact where did the post you quoted even mention race? The person's post didn't seem hateful, just inappropriate and poorly timed. You're the one trying to make it more.The only person that brought race into it was you.

I've given my feelings and thoughts in these threads regarding Kobe, just like everyone else. If you want to discuss your racially driven agenda that's cool, I don't feel it's appropriate in these threads, just like I find it inappropriate for people to try to bring up Kobe's past mistakes, and his court battles.

But I won't continue this, as it too would be inappropriate. Said my piece.

Because the only people bringing up that false rape stuff is white supremacists. They hate to see that a black man is admired so much so they trying to tear it down. It’s a white supremacist driven agenda. The facts are the facts. This is not the first time they did something like this. Don’t pretend that this isn’t something new.

By the way my comments yesterday was about the MSNBC commentator, not a person on here. Get your facts straight.

Won’t continue this with you. R.I.P Kobe

Man you're struggling today. Your posts have almost universally been awful. Might be time to step away from the computer for a bit. It's been a tough couple of days for basketball fans, but you're so overly combative that maybe it's best for you especially to take some time away from these boards until you're feeling better.

[Phystic]

I'll be the first one to apologize if it turns out to be mechanical failure, but all evidence so far suggests otherwise.

The way you keep speaking about this seems as if you want to paint the pilot as a villain. Pilot error, mechanic failure, weather related, whatever the final cause is doesn't change the fact that 9 people are gone. Multiple children that did not get to live their lives, one celebrity who was finally getting to enjoy his life outside of his career, two proud athlete parents, a woman who just got a dream assistant coach job, anoyher proud parents and the pilot. All of which had loved ones and people that cared for them.

I've read different sources that said the fog was bad but not horrible when they took off. That based on communications and normal weather patterns they expected it to clear as they approached their destination. It got worse. The pilot tried to turn and climb and didn't make it. He was an experienced, up to date licenses pilot that Kobe trusted.

There's zero reason to direct blame. Whether the pilot ultimately is found to have made a mistake or if it was simply an accident, it doesn't matter.

Just stop with your mission to vilify the pilot.

It's my understanding that even BEFORE Kobe's helicopter took off, the LAPD had already brought down all of their helicopters due to weather conditions. That implies that the visibility was really that bad.

Stop letting this pilot off the hook man. You don't risk a single life in the name of convenience, let alone 8 others. This pilot went to school to learn how to become a pilot. This was his profession, and his one job was to get from point A to point B without harm, and because of his lack of responsibility in this particular situation, a tragedy occurred and the world saw a death that had a magnitude of 100,000 deaths. I don't care if you have to say no to Kobe. That's part of your job description.

If it was indeed engine failure or something to the sort - of course I will retract my words. However, I don't think a man like Kobe, worth 500M+ would be risking the life of his daughter by not doing necessary maintenance/inspection to make sure that it was in near perfection condition monthly, if not weekly.

Let's call it like it is. A helicopter went up in the air when it should NOT have and a horrible tragedy ensued because of it. Even in the unlikely event that the crash wasn't caused by poor weather conditions, it was still an extremely irresponsible choice.

Just because LAPD grounded their helicopters doesn't mean it applies across the board. Different areas, different weather situations.


You saying you don't risk a life due to convenience can apply to everyone on board that flight. We take risks every day, we hedge our bets. Have you traveled in the rain? When it's windy? Snow? Slightly icey roads? We all take calculated risks when traveling. None of us know the circumstances or discussions that were had. Did you read the post by the poster that was a naval helicopter pilot? He could have been hit with sudden vertigo due to worsening conditions? Or the witness that said that little valley had a tendency to have a little micro climates where weather sticks there. From what I've read, the visibility was poor but within acceptable conditions to fly given the necessary precautions. You can even listen to the traffic control conversations. I would assume that if the weather was too poor to fly he would not have gotten clearance to take off, or one of the multiple air traffic controllers he spoke with during the flight would have had him land until it cleared up.

I'm not saying the man didn't possibly make a mistake but we don't know the conditions, or what could have led to a potential mistakes. Pilots fly in poor weather conditions every single day. I'd bet money that it wasn't the first time Kobe himself took a helicopter ride in less than ideal weather conditions.

Lastly, my initial point was that the man should not be the focus of rage. He lost his life like everyone aboard. It's tragic, I get people find comfort in focusing blame/responsibility. But I think people should try to keep emotions in check when it comes to that. Mob mentality can easily take over in these situations, and people need to remember there is a family grieving that man too.

EDIT: fixed ton of typos

[Coco Costanza]

so why is the game cancelled tomorrow?

So is this gonna happen every time a laker player/legend dies?

Since this forum doesn't allow the use of swears, you'll just have to use your imagination when I call you a **** ****.

I'll give you a hint. The last word rhymes with runt.

[clyde21]

so why is the game cancelled tomorrow?

So is this gonna happen every time a laker player/legend dies?

you got a small ass dick don't you little man?

[JellosJigglin]

Thank you Kobe

Watch on YouTube

[Roco14]

The way you keep speaking about this seems as if you want to paint the pilot as a villain. Pilot error, mechanic failure, weather related, whatever the final cause is doesn't change the fact that 9 people are gone. Multiple children that did not get to live their lives, one celebrity who was finally getting to enjoy his life outside of his career, two proud athlete parents, a woman who just got a dream assistant coach job, anoyher proud parents and the pilot. All of which had loved ones and people that cared for them.

I've read different sources that said the fog was bad but not horrible when they took off. That based on communications and normal weather patterns they expected it to clear as they approached their destination. It got worse. The pilot tried to turn and climb and didn't make it. He was an experienced, up to date licenses pilot that Kobe trusted.

There's zero reason to direct blame. Whether the pilot ultimately is found to have made a mistake or if it was simply an accident, it doesn't matter.

Just stop with your mission to vilify the pilot.

It's my understanding that even BEFORE Kobe's helicopter took off, the LAPD had already brought down all of their helicopters due to weather conditions. That implies that the visibility was really that bad.

Stop letting this pilot off the hook man. You don't risk a single life in the name of convenience, let alone 8 others. This pilot went to school to learn how to become a pilot. This was his profession, and his one job was to get from point A to point B without harm, and because of his lack of responsibility in this particular situation, a tragedy occurred and the world saw a death that had a magnitude of 100,000 deaths. I don't care if you have to say no to Kobe. That's part of your job description.

If it was indeed engine failure or something to the sort - of course I will retract my words. However, I don't think a man like Kobe, worth 500M+ would be risking the life of his daughter by not doing necessary maintenance/inspection to make sure that it was in near perfection condition monthly, if not weekly.

Let's call it like it is. A helicopter went up in the air when it should NOT have and a horrible tragedy ensued because of it. Even in the unlikely event that the crash wasn't caused by poor weather conditions, it was still an extremely irresponsible choice.

Just because LAPD grounded their helicopters doesn't mean it applies across the board. Different areas, different weather situations.


You saying you don't risk a life due to convenience can apply to everyone on board that flight. We take risks every day, we hedge our bets. Have you traveled in the rain? When it's windy? Snow? Slightly icey roads? We all take calculated risks when traveling. None of us know the circumstances or discussions that were had. Did you read the past by the poster that was a naval helicopter pilot? He could have been hit with sudden vertigo die to worsening conditions? Or the witness that said that little valley had a tendency to have a little micro climate where weather sticks there. From what I've read, the visibility was poor but within acceptable conditions to fly given the necessary precautions. You can even listen to the traffic control conversations. I would assume that if the weather was too poor to fly he would not have gotten clearance to take off, or one of the multiple air traffic controllers he spoke with during the flight would have had him land until it cleared up.

I'm not saying the man didn't possibly make a mistake but we don't know the conditions, or what could have let to a potential mistakes. Pilots fly in poor weather conditions every single day. I'd bet money that it wasn't he first time Kobe himself took a helicopter ride in less than ideal weather conditions.

Lastly, my initial point was that the man should not be the focus of rage. He lost his life the everyone aboard. It's tragic, I get people find comfort in focusing blame/responsibility. But I think people should try to keep emotions in check when it comes to that. Mob mentality can easily take over in these situations, and people need to remember there is a family grieving that man too.

That's fair, and you're right to say that even if the pilot was to blame, someone is suffering from his death as well regardless.

But again, the reports I'm reading are that the pilot had to request "special clearance" to fly that day in heavy fog and that he was a 'VFR pilot', which is supposedly the type of pilot that relies on his visuals to navigate rather than instrument use. We all make mistakes and you're probably right that this wasn't the first time Kobe flew in questionable conditions; but if you're specifically a VFR pilot requesting special permission to fly through unusually heavy fog when seemingly nobody else is flying, well, I just view that as a preventable mistake. It hurts to know that there's a good chance we're all suffering and families were torn apart from a preventable mistake.

Read on Twitter

[TurinTurambar]

So I've been thinking of something, anything to say really, which is of course impossible in this situation because there just are no words to convey the feelings being processed right now, so I'm just going to ramble for a bit.

I was 11 years old when Kobe was drafted. I grew up to that point watching guys like Magic or Jordan or Bird or whoever, and while I always admired and respected them as much as I was dazzled by them, I didn't really relate to them a ton on a personal level. Then the Lakers acquire this 17 year old coming straight out of high school, and I just thought that was so **** cool. Here's this kid, just six years older than me, and he's going to be playing for my team.

I was 31 years old when Kobe retired. It's funny, I've been thinking about him basically nonstop for well over 24 hours now, and it's just crazy how someone can have such an impact on your life, and since its happening gradually over the course of such a long time, you hardly notice it.

Kobe made me a bigger, better fan of basketball. I fell more in love with the game as I continued to grow up watching him grow both on and off the court. I don't think I would be the Lakers fan I am today if it wasn't for Kobe. I don't think I'd be the Magic Johnson fan I am today if it wasn't for him. Or the Shaq fan; or the Michael Jordan fan; or the Kevin Garnett fan; or the Tim Duncan fan; or the LeBron fan...

And it extends beyond basketball. My brother and I were always going to be close siblings, but having 82 plus reasons a year to spend 3 or 4 hours glued to a game (and luckily getting to go to a few here and there), talking about basketball, its history and its players, and letting those conversations dovetail into conversations about art or school or relationships or just life in general. It gave us a reason to have quality time together, and to this day we still meet up whenever we can just to watch a game. He was the first person I came out to, and I find myself wondering if that would have been the case had we not spent all that time together bonding over this silly game with a bouncy orange ball.

He was just always there. For pretty much all of it. I was there, too. I was still there. I had just listened to his interview with Matty and Jax like a week ago. My YouTube history was already littered with Kobe highlights. It's not like he was ever that far from my mind.

I was so excited for him when he won his Oscar, so excited to see what he was going to do as an artist working with different canvasses. It felt so good to see him, of all people, so happy with his daughters and his wife and so content in life after professional basketball.

I still don't feel like I appreciated him enough. I guess that's normal, though. I know this was totally a one sided relationship, and that I was never going to get a chance to tell him any of this, or to thank him for it, and that's fine.

There have been a lot of comparisons to Prince, or Michael Jackson, or even Kennedy, but honestly I haven't felt anything like this from any other celebrity incident. I know it may seem silly, but this feels more like when my grandma passed.

I hope I get to be a girl dad one day.

[Trey24]

Gotta tell you, I really have no desire to watch the NBA right now. I have league pass and typically watch 2 full games a night and parts of 4-5 others. I just can't bring myself to watch. I love Kobe and the game of basketball is one of my biggest crutches. I hope that I will feel like watching tomorrow.

[darkse1d]

so why is the game cancelled tomorrow?

So is this gonna happen every time a laker player/legend dies?

you got a small ass dick don't you little man?

Ok there mr big dick guy. It just sets a bad precedent. So next time a laker legend dies, the game should be postponed so players mourn.

[Phystic]

It's my understanding that even BEFORE Kobe's helicopter took off, the LAPD had already brought down all of their helicopters due to weather conditions. That implies that the visibility was really that bad.

Stop letting this pilot off the hook man. You don't risk a single life in the name of convenience, let alone 8 others. This pilot went to school to learn how to become a pilot. This was his profession, and his one job was to get from point A to point B without harm, and because of his lack of responsibility in this particular situation, a tragedy occurred and the world saw a death that had a magnitude of 100,000 deaths. I don't care if you have to say no to Kobe. That's part of your job description.

If it was indeed engine failure or something to the sort - of course I will retract my words. However, I don't think a man like Kobe, worth 500M+ would be risking the life of his daughter by not doing necessary maintenance/inspection to make sure that it was in near perfection condition monthly, if not weekly.

Let's call it like it is. A helicopter went up in the air when it should NOT have and a horrible tragedy ensued because of it. Even in the unlikely event that the crash wasn't caused by poor weather conditions, it was still an extremely irresponsible choice.

Just because LAPD grounded their helicopters doesn't mean it applies across the board. Different areas, different weather situations.


You saying you don't risk a life due to convenience can apply to everyone on board that flight. We take risks every day, we hedge our bets. Have you traveled in the rain? When it's windy? Snow? Slightly icey roads? We all take calculated risks when traveling. None of us know the circumstances or discussions that were had. Did you read the past by the poster that was a naval helicopter pilot? He could have been hit with sudden vertigo die to worsening conditions? Or the witness that said that little valley had a tendency to have a little micro climate where weather sticks there. From what I've read, the visibility was poor but within acceptable conditions to fly given the necessary precautions. You can even listen to the traffic control conversations. I would assume that if the weather was too poor to fly he would not have gotten clearance to take off, or one of the multiple air traffic controllers he spoke with during the flight would have had him land until it cleared up.

I'm not saying the man didn't possibly make a mistake but we don't know the conditions, or what could have let to a potential mistakes. Pilots fly in poor weather conditions every single day. I'd bet money that it wasn't he first time Kobe himself took a helicopter ride in less than ideal weather conditions.

Lastly, my initial point was that the man should not be the focus of rage. He lost his life the everyone aboard. It's tragic, I get people find comfort in focusing blame/responsibility. But I think people should try to keep emotions in check when it comes to that. Mob mentality can easily take over in these situations, and people need to remember there is a family grieving that man too.

That's fair, and you're right to say that even if the pilot was to blame, someone is suffering from his death as well regardless.

But again, the reports I'm reading are that the pilot had to request "special clearance" to fly that day in heavy fog and that he was a 'VFR pilot', which is supposedly the type of pilot that relies on his visuals to navigate rather than instrument use. We all make mistakes and you're probably right that this wasn't the first time Kobe flew in questionable conditions; but if you're specifically a VFR pilot requesting special permission to fly through unusually heavy fog when seemingly nobody else is flying, well, I just view that as a preventable mistake. It hurts to know that there's a good chance we're all suffering and families were torn apart from a preventable mistake.

Read on Twitter

Based on the information released so far that I've read, it does appear it could have been avoided. But all accidents could have been avoided if one or two choices were changed. And I hadn't read he requested special permission, that's good to know. But he was a VFR pilot, which from my limited understanding is required to fly in low visibility conditions. So wouldn't that make sense? He was certified to fly in the unideal circumstance and either made a mistake or just had a tragic accident.

I can only speak for myself, but I just feel it's a fruitless endeavor to try to place blame. What comes out of it? The only people that will suffer from it is the man's family. But again, I understand. People grieve their own ways, and sometimes that includes trying to place responsibility to cope.

[NO-KG-AI]

so why is the game cancelled tomorrow?

So is this gonna happen every time a laker player/legend dies?

you got a small ass dick don't you little man?

Ok there mr big dick guy. It just sets a bad precedent. So next time a laker legend dies, the game should be postponed so players mourn.

Seriously, shut the **** up.

[Beethoven]

^I reported this troll. I would advise you the same.

[MoochieNorris]

favorite kobe story goes something like this.
it was mike's last season(wizards) and they're playing the lakers. i guess this is around the time that kobe signed with nike too so he's wearing jordans int he game and mike starts talking a little and he eventually says something along the lines of "you can wear the/(my) shoes but you'll never fill them". kobe didn't like that.
so this happened the next time they played each other which was also the last time they ever played each other.

Watch on YouTube

i grew up on mike, that was my guy. but how could you not respect someone who had that same killer instinct. wasn't quite as good, but wanted to **** destroy you just as badly.

RIP Mamba

[dodongo]

Scenes from around Manila:

Kobe was a frequent visitor, and Pinoys really loved the Lakers.

I'm 30 and most of my peers absolutely adored Kobe growing up. I was never a big fan of his, I was rooting for the Rockets with Yao and Franchise. And I thought Kobe was a bit too arrogant, maybe a bit too ambitious, and maybe was a bit too confident in himself?

But as he (and I) grew older, I began to respect him more and more. I understand why certain things happened. And I began to understand and appreciate how much he believed in himself, his work ethic, and just his overall mentality. I appreciate how he had so many players under his wing, how much of a family man he was, and how much he loved the game.

Even though I was rooting against him all those years, I'm sure he inspired me to always work hard, give my all, and to not be afraid to fail.

Losing Kobe really hurt. It felt like losing family. I really lost a part of me with his passing.

[Lalouie]

I just saw an amazing breakdown on /r/nba by someone who's a pilot himself

https://old.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/ev0ji5/helicopter_sikorsky_crashes_north_of_los_angeles/

Some final thoughts:

1. I do not do any of this analysis to pass judgement on the pilot heard in the video. It is rare that helicopter aviation is in the spot light like this and I just wanted to provide some context for what was happening. I have the deepest sympathies for the pilot, the passengers in the mishap and their loved ones.

2. Vertigo is a term you may hear that the pilot had during this mishap. Think of vertigo as being instantly drunk and unable to have your brain communicate function to your body. It can occur when you encounter clouds when you are not expecting it or believe that the horizon that you are referencing while flying is there when in reality it is not. I can see how that is confusing and there are many youtube videos that can show the effects of veritgo on pilots.

3. I have had incapacitating vertigo once while flying my helicopter and it was the scariest moment of my life. It was like nothing I have experienced before while flying and hope to never experience again. My motor functions and brain connection basically became disconnected and I was unable to tell if the aircraft was climbing / descending / turning / straight. It was at night and I went into the clouds at an area I was extremely familiar with. I was complacent to the mission I was conducting because I had done it so often and it nearly cost me my own life and the lives of 4 other people that night. I was saved by my copilot and his ability to use his training to get us back straight and level and talk me back onto the instrumentation.

4. I do not know if this pilot had vertigo or simply lost control of the aircraft. The bad weather, his intention to turn to the west and sudden departure to out of control flight (a climb to above 2000+ feet MSL and ultimately crash landing at 4000 feet per minute rate of descent) are indicators that some kind of spatial disorientation may have been a factor.

Long post, hope it was helpful if you were looking for some analysis on the recording.

Whatever the details may be (they will probably stay more or less unclear forever), it seems that having a pilot and a co-pilot is basically required in challenging weather conditions, if you want to avoid unnecessary risks. You can't control everything in the world, but that's one thing that can be controlled. No idea about "vertigo", but this also applies to using IFR or not using it, the co-pilot can watch for things that the pilot can not, at a given moment.

the connection i see here is that this vertigo accompanies no visibility. neither the poster's night flying on a cloudy night nor kobe pilot flying in the fog.

remind me never to climb into a helicopter at a time with zero visibility

[TimRobbins]

You saying you don't risk a life due to convenience can apply to everyone on board that flight. We take risks every day, we hedge our bets. Have you traveled in the rain? When it's windy? Snow? Slightly icey roads? We all take calculated risks when traveling. None of us know the circumstances or discussions that were had. Did you read the post by the poster that was a naval helicopter pilot? He could have been hit with sudden vertigo due to worsening conditions? Or the witness that said that little valley had a tendency to have a little micro climates where weather sticks there. From what I've read, the visibility was poor but within acceptable conditions to fly given the necessary precautions. You can even listen to the traffic control conversations. I would assume that if the weather was too poor to fly he would not have gotten clearance to take off, or one of the multiple air traffic controllers he spoke with during the flight would have had him land until it cleared up.

I'm not saying the man didn't possibly make a mistake but we don't know the conditions, or what could have led to a potential mistakes. Pilots fly in poor weather conditions every single day. I'd bet money that it wasn't the first time Kobe himself took a helicopter ride in less than ideal weather conditions.

Lastly, my initial point was that the man should not be the focus of rage. He lost his life like everyone aboard. It's tragic, I get people find comfort in focusing blame/responsibility. But I think people should try to keep emotions in check when it comes to that. Mob mentality can easily take over in these situations, and people need to remember there is a family grieving that man too.

EDIT: fixed ton of typos

I don't see anybody raging here (maybe other than yourself). We're pointing out a very simple point (which IMO is unbeatable) that the helicopter crashed due to pilot error. There was clearly a risk in flying in fog conditions and the pilot clearly made other mistakes which led the helicopter to crash on a mountain.

I'm sorry, but this crash is on the pilot. It doesn't mean he's a villain. It was obviously and accident and not malice or premeditation.

It is what it is.

[Slava]

Anyone seen a statement from Phil Jackson? The people I was most looking forward to hearing from were Jerry West, Jeannie Buss, Shaq and Phil Jackson. Jeannie is very emotional so I can imagine her being an absolute wreck, the other two have spoken but no word yet from Phil?

[ROballer]

Anyone seen a statement from Phil Jackson? The people I was most looking forward to hearing from were Jerry West, Jeannie Buss, Shaq and Phil Jackson. Jeannie is very emotional so I can imagine her being an absolute wreck, the other two have spoken but no word yet from Phil?

First time I'm posting on the GB after 6 years. Gave up on this place after Kobe tore his achilles, seeing posters actually saluting that terrible event.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2873270-phil-jackson-reflects-on-kobe-bryant-after-his-death-kobe-was-a-chosen-one

"The crash was a tragedy for multiple families. My heart goes out to Vanessa and the families that lost loved ones," Jackson said, per B/R's Howard Beck. "Kobe was a chosen one—special in many ways to many people. Our relationship as coach/player transcended the norm. He went beyond the veil."