Kobe Bryant among 5 killed in Helicpoter Crash

[Deebo]

Kobe Bryant is among those dead in a helicopter crash outside Los Angeles, a source confirms to ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 26, 2020

[Nik]

Aww man. I was literally just talking about him. RIP to one of the greatest.

[Nik]

I know it's way too soon to think about stuff like this but so soon after losing Doc it just seems like so many deaths like these happen in small private aircraft in a way that it doesn't really in just regular air or road travel. Obviously I don't have numbers supporting that but, I mean, it really feels like it's not a good way to travel.

[WhatIfGodWasALeaf]

Sad for those that felt connected to the man and for his family.

I'm not ready to deify him in death though, he has a dark past.

[Hobbes]

...I don't have numbers supporting that but, I mean, it really feels like it's not a good way to travel.

When it comes to air travel you're correct. I can't find much in the way of any recent stats for USA but a "Fortune" piece from a few years ago said that for the USA:

...Americans have a 1 in 114 chance of dying in a car crash, according to the National Safety Council. The odds of dying in air and space transport incidents, which include private flights and air taxis, are 1 in 9,821. That’s almost three times better chances than you meeting your fate by choking on food.

[L K]

Hey Sportsnet.   Maybe don’t zoom in on people grieving while they are having private conversations.   It’s incredibly tacky.

[Deebo]

One of his daughters was among the deceased, according to TMZ.

[WhatIfGodWasALeaf]

This guy is like my wife's family's Gretzky, people here are really melting down.

So sad, his daughter was already tipped to be the best WNBA'er of all time, she was a star at 13 already.

[Nik]

A lot of unconfirmed stuff going around social media that seems to be debunked a few minutes later. Maybe best not to lean too heavily into any of it.

[Deebo]

A lot of unconfirmed stuff going around social media that seems to be debunked a few minutes later. Maybe best not to lean too heavily into any of it.

Woj has the news on his daughter too.

Sources: Kobe Bryant was on his way to a travel basketball game with his daughter Gianna when the helicopter crashed. Those aboard the helicopter also included another player and parent.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 26, 2020

[Nik]

Yeah, I just saw that and Woj is pretty solid but he's still attributing it to "Sources" so...I don't know. I'm not criticizing anyone for posting it, just saying we may not want to jump the gun. YMMV.

[Nik]

Really weird to be watching this Raptors game. You can tell the players are pretty wrecked. You've got people crying in the stands...kind of feels like this shouldn't be happening.

[L K]

Really weird to be watching this Raptors game. You can tell the players are pretty wrecked. You've got people crying in the stands...kind of feels like this shouldn't be happening.

I kind of liked the discussion that Rautins and Devlin had though.   Kobe’s reputation was mamba mentality and being forced to be dragged off the court.   A tough game to play but going out and playing through the pain might be the best way to honour him.   

[Nik]

Really weird to be watching this Raptors game. You can tell the players are pretty wrecked. You've got people crying in the stands...kind of feels like this shouldn't be happening.

I kind of liked the discussion that Rautins and Devlin had though.   Kobe’s reputation was mamba mentality and being forced to be dragged off the court.   A tough game to play but going out and playing through the pain might be the best way to honour him.

I get the symbolism they're going for there and for sure if a player decided to play hard today in his honour I'd think that was appropriate. I'm not saying that by playing they're being disrespectful of Bryant, I'm saying that in the immediate aftermath of this where players are very visibly grieving on court that it's probably too much to expect that guys focus on some sort of symbolic commemoration of his legacy and caring about a basketball game vs. just, you know, being emotional.

[princedpw]

It is a shame we don’t understand human psychology well enough to generate this kind of emotion for the thousands who die from malaria or who wish to flee from war or violence or for the many other preventable causes of death and suffering.