Vanessa Bryant makes first public comment since deaths of Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna

Tom Gatto

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Vanessa Bryant makes first public comment since deaths of Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna image

Vanessa Bryant, the widow of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, wrote Wednesday that "there aren't enough words to describe our pain right now" as part of her first public statement since the deaths of her husband and daughter in a weekend helicopter crash.

Her post on Instagram also expressed sorrow for the families of the seven other people who perished in the crash Sunday morning in Calabasas, Calif. She announced that a fund has been set up through the Mamba Sports Foundation to assist the families of those victims.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

My girls and I want to thank the millions of people who’ve shown support and love during this horrific time. Thank you for all the prayers. We definitely need them. 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. 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. We were so incredibly blessed to have them in our lives. I wish they were here with us forever. They were our beautiful blessings taken from us too soon. I’m not sure what our lives hold beyond today, and it’s impossible to imagine life without them. 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. Our love for them is endless — and that’s to say, immeasurable. I just wish I could hug them, kiss them and bless them. Have them here with us, forever. Thank you for sharing your joy, your grief and your support with us. We ask that you grant us the respect and privacy we will need to navigate this new reality. To honor our Team Mamba family, the Mamba Sports Foundation has set up the MambaOnThree Fund to help support the other families affected by this tragedy. To donate, please go to MambaOnThree.org. To further Kobe and Gianna’s legacy in youth sports, please visit MambaSportsFoundation.org. Thank you so much for lifting us up in your prayers, and for loving Kobe, Gigi, Natalia, Bianka, Capri and me. #Mamba #Mambacita #GirlsDad #DaddysGirls #Family ❤️

A post shared by Vanessa Bryant 🦋 (@vanessabryant) on

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Vanessa Bryant also wrote in the post that Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna were "our beautiful blessings taken away from us too soon."

"I'm not sure what our lives hold beyond today, and it's impossible to imagine life without them. But we wake up each day, trying to keep pushing because Kobe, and our baby girl, Gigi, both knew that they were so deeply loved," she wrote.

Kobe and Gianna Bryant were killed when the helicopter in which they were riding crashed into a remote hillside in Calabasas. They were en route to a basketball game that 13-year-old Gianna was scheduled to play. Six other passengers and the pilot were on board the aircraft when it went down in foggy conditions.

GREER: Gianna brought out the best side of her father

As Vanessa Bryant was making her first statement, NBA teams continued to honor Kobe and Gianna Bryant on Wednesday. The Nets, for their game against the Pistons, produced a video tribute to Kobe Bryant and held open two courtside seats in a nod to the viral moment of father talking with daughter a Nets game in December.

Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie, meanwhile, switched his jersey number from 8 to 26, making him the latest player to "retire" one of Kobe's numbers.

Pacers guard Victor Oladipo, in his first game back since suffering a knee injury last season, dedicated his game-tying 3-pointer Wednesday to the crash victims.

"Mamba mentality . . . Mamba mentailty, Mamba mentality, man," Oladipo, fighting back tears, said in a postgame interview after the Pacers defeated the Bulls in overtime. "That was (for) Ko, GiGi, all (those) people that (were) on that helicopter, that's for them, man."

The Sacramento Kings put Bryant's name and number in neon outside Golden 1 Center and produced their own video tribute.

The Lakers' NHL neighbors, the LA Kings, offered their own tributes in the first sporting event at Staples Center since the crash, including a pregame ceremony, and a commemorative graphic:

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.