The Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant celebration of life memorial was filled with heartbreaking speeches from Byant’s widow Vanessa Bryant and those who were close to him during his career with the Los Angeles Lakers. However, his parents Joe and Pam Bryant and sisters Shaya Tabb and Sharia Washington did not speak. They did attend though, and watched as others paid tribute to Byant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna.
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Although photos of the family from the event were sparse, one photo shows Bryant’s parents Joe and Pam Bryant sitting next to Tabb and Washington.
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One possible reason for a lack of pictures of Bryant’s parents and sisters from the event is a ban on taking photos of his surviving daughters, Natalia, 17; Bianka, 3; and Capri, 8 months. A source told Page Six no photos were allowed to be taken of the Bryant children. Bryant’s immediate family was likely sitting next to them.
Byant, Gianna and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26 in Calabasas, California. A few days after the crash, Bryant’s older sisters spoke out in a joint statement.
“On behalf of our family, we join Vanessa, Natalia, Bianka and Capri in grieving the loss of Kobe and Gianna in such a tragic accident,” the statement read. “We are devastated by the loss of our brother, son, our niece and granddaughter, and our hearts go out to all the families who lost their loved ones on Sunday. Our lives are forever changed. Thank you for your prayers, the numerous calls, texts, emails and cards.”
Bryant’s sisters also asked fans to make donations to MambaOnThree to support the families of the other victims and the now-named Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation.
During many of the heartbreaking tributes on Monday, Bryant’s relationship with his parents and sisters was not mentioned, which did not go unnoticed by many observers. Instead, speeches focused on his dedication to helping others and being there for his daughters. Vanessa fought back tears as she spoke about their daughter, who dreamed of becoming a basketball star in her own right.
“Gianna Bryant is an amazingly sweet and gentle soul,” Vanessa said during her speech. “She was always thoughtful. She always kissed me goodnight and kissed me good morning. There were a few occasions where I was absolutely tired from being up with Bianka and Capri and I thought she had left for school without saying goodbye. I text and say ‘No kiss?’ and Gianna would reply with, ‘Mama, I kissed you but you were asleep and I didn’t want to wake you.’”
“When he walked into a room, the energy ignited,” Lakers GM Rob Pelinka said of Bryant. “He was high voltage, with a motor that had no limits. His mind has an infinite capacity to learn. He was, simply put, the most inspirational athlete of our time. What the world may not know, is that he was also the best friend anyone could ever imagine.”
Photo credit: Getty Images
