Vanessa Bryant won her lawsuit over her husband’s helicopter crash site photos and has big plans for the money she received. The attorney of Kobe Bryant’s widow announced she plans to donate the process from the $16 million to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, a nonprofit named in Kobe and Gianna Bryant’s memory, per Yahoo Sports. A jury awarded $16 million to Vanessa Bryant and $15 million to Chris Chester, whose wife Sarah and daughter Payton died in the crash along with Kobe and Gianna. The Bryant and Chester family sued Los Angeles County for sharing photos from the crash site, including pictures of the bodies from the crash that happened on Jan. 26, 2020.
“From the beginning, Vanessa Bryant has sought only accountability, but our legal system does not permit her to force better policies, more training or officer discipline,” her attorney Luis Li said in a statement, per the Los Angeles Times. “Those measures are the responsibility of the sheriff’s and fire departments — responsibilities that Mrs. Bryant’s efforts have exposed as woefully deficient, even giving amnesty to the wrongdoers.”
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Li went on to say that Bryant is “deeply grateful” to Ralph Mendez and Luella Weireter, who complained to the Sheriff’s Department and Fire Department, respectively, about the photos being shared. Mendez reported a deputy was showing the photos to a bartender. Weireter reported that firefighters were sharing photos at an awards gala.
Bryant didn’t speak to the media once the verdict was announced. But she did testify during the trial and revealed her reaction when learning about the photos being shared. “I just remember not wanting to react cause the girls were in the room,” Bryant said. “I said, ‘I can’t do this.’ … And I bolted out of the house and I ran to the side of the house so the girls couldn’t see me. I wanted to run… down the block and just scream. I can’t escape my body. I can’t escape what I feel.” The Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation was launched in 2016 and was known as the Mamba Sports Foundation at the time. It was renamed in 2020 to honor Kobe and Giana, who played basketball just like her father. Kobe played in the NBA for 20 years (1996-2016) and won five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers.
