Kobe Bryant’s Olympian Cousin John Cox Breaks Silence on Lakers Icon’s and Gianna’s Deaths

It's been two weeks since Kobe Bryant's death shocked the world. Following the tragic accident, [...]

By Stephanie Downs

It's been two weeks since Kobe Bryant's death shocked the world. Following the tragic accident, many spoke out about the legacy that the athlete would be leaving behind. And now, Bryant's cousin, John Cox, has taken to Twitter to share his thoughts about the NBA legend's untimely passing.

On Feb. 9, Cox posted a photo of himself and Bryant, who can be seen holding one of his daughters in the snap. In his caption, the Olympian, who is also a basketball player, thanked everyone for sending him their condolences and acknowledged that he was "devastated" over losing his cousins, Kobe and Gianna Bryant. While he went on to say that the "pain will never go away," he does take stock in "knowing Kobe would want us all to persevere."

Cox's post comes exactly two weeks after it was reported that Kobe, his daughter Gianna, and seven others lost their lives as a result of a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, on Jan. 26. The group was reportedly on their way to a game at the Mamba Sports Academy at the time of the accident, per TMZ.

Cox isn't the only member of the Bryant family to have spoken out about the tragedy. A few days after the incident occurred, Kobe's wife, Vanessa Bryant, issued a tribute to her late husband and daughter on Instagram.

"We are completely devastated by the sudden loss of my adoring husband, Kobe — the amazing father of our children; and my beautiful, sweet Gianna — a loving, thoughtful, and wonderful daughter, and amazing sister to Natalia, Bianka, and Capri," she wrote. "We are also devastated for the families who lost their loved ones on Sunday, and we share in their grief intimately. There aren't enough words to describe our pain right now. I take comfort in knowing that Kobe and Gigi both knew that they were so deeply loved."

"I'm not sure what our lives hold beyond today, and it's impossible to imagine life without them," she continued. "But we wake up each day, trying to keep pushing because Kobe, and our baby girl, Gigi, are shining on us to light the way."

At the time, Vanessa announced the creation of the Mamba On Three Fund, which was created in order to help benefit the families of the other victims in the crash. She also urged fans to visit MambaSportsFoundation.org if they wanted to honor Kobe and Gianna's legacies in youth sports.

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