Why are people being so extra about Kobe Bryant's death?

Because the two most dramatic and extra people on the planet are sports fans and black people, and Bryant's fanbase combined both.

Because people are like lemmings - one person goes over the cliff about it, the next one does, so then others feel obligated to act like they're deeply impacted

Sports are the biggest cult on the planet.

Straight men love and exalt sports idols. And it is encouraged because it's $$$$. If one of our beloved divas went out like this gays would be gutted but shamed into suppressing our grief.

For the gays, it would be the equivalent of Barbra Streisand crashing into her Malibu compound.

For me it was like a slap in the face that anything could happen at anytime. You wake up one morning and by the end of the day, your life is completely different. My old man could be gone at any second and I don't know what the fuck I would do.

R6 but wouldn't all the stories about people dying from the coronavirus do the same thing? Or people dying unexpectedly in general? This sort of thing isn't that rare.

[quote]For the gays, it would be the equivalent of Barbra Streisand crashing into her Malibu compound.

With her cloned dogs and Donna Karan on board, and several basement mall employees unable to escape the fire trap caused by the explosive crash. James is notified by the press while well under par on the golf course.

I'm more upset that his daughter and her friend were in the helicopter. As new cycles go, this will be mostly forgotten by next week.

R7, if I felt a connection to that person, I probably would. I live in L.A. and I was this upset when that news anchor was fisted to death. Everyone has their trigger.

Does he at least finish the round, R8 or does he rush to Babs' side?

[quote]For the gays, it would be the equivalent of Barbra Streisand crashing into her Malibu compound.

And the producers of Gypsy would be delirious with relief.

I don’t give a shit about him. I was really sad about his daughter, who had her whole life ahead of her.

Unfortunately for Barbra and all the other septuagenarian/octogenarian stars, they’re too old for their deaths to be considered tragic or worthy of a long news cycle.

The helicopter got special permission to fly in hazardous conditions. Had he pulled a "Don't you know who I am?"

R15 I think it's clear he did!

It's simple: a lot of people just had a rude reminder about their mortality. Bryant played for 20 years, straight out of high school, and died less than four years after retiring. So people who cared about him were shocked by the sudden reversal for fortune.

R15, as a friend of mine said, yesterday “poor people don’t die in helicopter crashes”.

I suppose in general, we're over-invested in celebrities & sports figures, but he'd in the public eye for 25 years and his rape charge not withstanding, was very charismatic and seemed to be a good guy. I suppose it's sort of like Princess Diana in the sense that it's someone who has lived their adult life in the public eye and you feel as if you know them - even if of course you don't.

I grew up in LA. And I love sports. Love them. Played football, basketball and baseball in high school. It's cool that you don't. No biggie. Kobe was on a different level. We're the same age, so I literally grew up with him.

I assume, OP, you have something that you love that maybe I won't understand? If an icon of whatever YOU love should die? Should I just dismiss it? Nope. I'd let you cry your heart out and do anything to make you feel better.

R1 This is the reason why, as a straight man and a sports fan, I come to this board on a daily basis. For insight like that. On all the other boards I view, you would never see a response like that, because, the question "Why are people being so extra about Kobe Bryant's death?" would never be asked.

I have enjoyed being on sports forums with a majority of straight men. They are a very cival and just remembering his past accomplishments. No femmies and females reminding us about his rapist past or questioning why people even care that he died.

R1 no one is more dramatic than black trans/ fem black bottoms....

Now I know what "extra" means in millennispeak.

R5, Well done. In the olden days this could be its own classic thread and a true WW for you.

[quote]They are a very cival

A very cival (sic) what?

OP, why do you say "As a gay, I don't like sports", as if the one excludes the other? Just because you may have not been athletic or sports-focused through your life doesn't mean ALL gay men are the same. Many of us were/are athletic and love sports!

These kinds of statements drive me up the wall. The one I really hate is: Which one is the top?

Grrrr...

R22 ? I hate you.

Exactly. It’s not as if he was a Royal.

Search the Internet and you will find black people annoyed that white people are mourning Kobe. He’s our motherfucker.

Part of it is that he was still fairly young and had young children. So Streisand would not be a good parallel. Perhaps Gaga or Bey.

R31 I agree. I don't think it's rocket science to figure out--rich, accomplished man, dying suddenly and shockingly at what most consider a pretty young age. Why wouldn't people be emotional about it? (I get that there's a negative narrative about him, too, but not of the level, at least as far as I know, of Kevin Spacey and Harvey Weinstein--and if either of them met their maker today, I suspect people would cheer).

He's being celebrated as a hero and not as a racist because America puts athletes in a pedestal in a weird and unique way. Similar to how they eliminate academic and arts related programs in schools to make way for funding for sports. It's an insanity that is unique to this country. Of course the fact that he's a successful black guy also helps shield him from criticism over maiming a girl through forcing his dick into her, but that's another story.

In death everyone becomes a saint. He raped that lady, choked her, saying that was normal, that he did that all the time with his mistress; the victim had bruises on her neck and jaw. She had lacerations in her vagina, her blood was on his clothing. When being questioned by police, he threw a cum-stained t-shirt in the detective's face, etc. But he died tragically, so he's a saint now.

Random but I didn’t realize that Giana is the daughter in the “Kobe Bryant explains” gif/meme .... It’s heartbreaking that it seemed like they had a particularly special father-daughter bond and then they died together in such a horrible way ...

OP— Kobe Bryant was a black athlete. How else are you going to let the world know you’re “woke” unless you go in hysterics over his, admittedly tragic, death?

He won games, and the dumb halfwits who drool over sports will look past any crimes as long as their team wins!

See under: Rapistberger, Ben

" It's an insanity that is unique to this country."

That is just so much bullshit. Civilizations have lauded and heaped praise on athletes for centuries. Ever hear of the Olympics?

And if you've ever been to the World Cup or any other soccer championship, you'd know the U.S. hardly has a lock on sports fanaticism. .

R34 oh get over it feminazi he got his nut the whore got her big payday , her vagina and asshole are (probably) repaired by now and he’s dead!

Has anyone checked in on his mother Anita?

[quote]As a gay, I don't really care about sports

And of course, no gay people like sports. We’re all just like you.🙄

Grief porn is a thing. I first noticed it with Michael Jackson. Wailing in the streets, public vigils. Public grief makes me really uncomfortable. My brother was killed in a semi-public accident, so we had .5 of 1% of what Kobe, MJ, Diana got. That alone was hell. News cameras at the cemetery, the whole town watching.

In the 6 years since, I'd say only two celeb-deaths have truly moved me: Robin Williams and Carrie Fisher.

[quote] I first noticed it with Michael Jackson. Wailing in the streets, public vigils.

I was in Toronto on vacation when that happened and while there was no huge public gathering per se, every store on Yonge Street was blasting his music, and there were small gatherings in front of a few theaters there, too.

The only time I'll ever get on a helicopter is if G-d forbid, I need to reach a hospital for emergency treatment.

Kobe's death was next level to me and I'm not even a huge basketball fan. I didn't care at all when Michael Jackson died and agree about Nipsey Hustle, didn't get that at all.

I don't care. My coworker said his grown son cried over this. It took everything in me not to laugh.

His wife has a reputation as an extreme diva, but I hope she and the girls she has left have somewhere to hide from this circus. I think I'd run out front screaming to get the fuck off my lawn.

He was the hometown hero. Sure looks like he had turned over a new leaf after that scandal. His daughter who died as well loved basketball. There has been video of the two of them attending a Lakers game and also playing basketball.

Additionally, the daughter's friend and both parents were killed in this crash as well. This is a tragedy, while Trump, McConnell and the crooked politicians in the Senate are trying to pull down the country. There is just a lot of grief right now, along with anger.

Has the woman he raped commented?

R49

She said, and I quote:

"Ow! Get offa me!"

R20, you sound like a genuine, honest-to-goodness nice guy. You’re a breath of fresh air here and I appreciate you.

One day I’ll find someone just like you.

r20 I don't idolize people, so I don't really have any celebrities or artists etc. that I would feel sad about. Only if I knew them personally and liked them.

r41 as a Lesbian, I find that comment offensive.

r27 I'm assuming you're the bottom.

Are there any dick pics?

[quote] If an icon of whatever YOU love should die? Should I just dismiss it? Nope. I'd let you cry your heart out and do anything to make you feel better.

Don’t be that way. OP didn’t say you can’t cry your heart out and shoot melancholy hoops or whatever it is one does. OP was talking about the hysteria that we are all drowning in over it, vol 11.

I’ve got the drizzly shits

People are so fake - all these young kids sobbing, as if they even truly knew who he was. But hey, it's a photo opp for mom and dad to post on facebook

It's sort of similar to when Mac Miller and the other recent rappers died. I'd never heard of them and other people were rending their garments over them.

I heard on the news that he's a huge supporter of women's sports and the WNBA in particular. That makes me like the rapist a little bit more.

[quote] If an icon of whatever YOU love should die? Should I just dismiss it? Nope. I'd let you cry your heart out and do anything to make you feel better.

MARY! You do you, R20. But personally: An “icon” on TV dying might be surprising and (a bit) sad - but “crying one’s heart out” over it is just OTT.

As a Millennial, I can’t think of a single celebrity who I’d actually “cry” over (internally or externally). The celebs in my generation tend to be annoying.

If Taylor Swift or Grande ever drop dead prematurely, I can just imagine the non-stop banshee wailing on Twitter from the crazy Twitterati hive-mob.

Because when he was not raping young women he was such a good family man!

What if it's Beyonce? Dear Lord in Heaven!

Same thing with Swift. Some of the Hot Twitter Gays™ I follow have "Swift" in their names and regularly post memes about how goddesslike she is. I expect each of them would be overdoing it to try to make her untimely passing all about them.

Just tragic all around, not to mention what his wife/Gianna's mom and her siblings plus extended family are going through grieving right now.

The indignant mooing from various sows who were pissed any one brought up the rape on the date of his death were overwhelming.

Anything not deifying His Majesty will be deemed hateful!

He wasn't a rapist. He screwed a hotel worker. I worked in hotels for years. Every actor/musician/athlete did the same. She just cashed in. Give her credit. He's a top five player and a cheater on his wife for sure. But not a rapist.

[quote] If an icon of whatever YOU love should die? Should I just dismiss it? Nope. I'd let you cry your heart out and do anything to make you feel better.

Iran salutes you for your solidarity, R20. Now join us in our mass stampede wailing over losing our Great & Glorious General & Icon. To make us feel better, please clog up all the toilets in Pentagon.

I think my equivalent is when Glenn Close didn't win the Oscar last year.

He was also accused of committing adultery without consent.

I think the uk equivalent of something like this would be if say David Beckham or a group of players from one of the top football teams or England squad died in a shock accident.

R47. The flowers etc were left outside the gates to the community where he lived. Newport Coast. He supported numerous sports programs, started the Mamba basketball League, coached his daughter, and a volleyball league which his oldest daughter played in. He also worked with the city of LA to cure homelessness. Just a couple of his post retirement activities. Wrote books, won an Oscar. Not bad for a “Rapist”. I think he redeemed himself. Oh-and repaired his marriage and had 2 more kids.

Cause they see other people getting likes over being sad so they suddenly become sad too.

R66, the complainant's blood was found on Bryant's clothing and the medical professionals who examined her concluded that her physical injuries including multiple lacerations to her vagina were consistent with non-consensual sexual activity. Even if whatever happened that night began as a consensual encounter it sure doesn't sound like it ended as one.

[quote] Oh-and repaired his marriage and had 2 more kids.

Not before he paid off his wife with a ring and some houses. What a storybook romance!

Apparently, he was not a serial rapist or abuser. He is allowed to move on with his life, and he did. I hope the woman he assaulted has moved on with hers.

Because sportsball.

And when you're a sportsball star you can get away with anything. They just let you do it. You could shoot someone on 5th Ave and they'd still love ya. You can rape a woman. You can beat a wife. You can run dog fights. Use roids and PED. You can deflate footballs. You can kill a couple of guys over a spilled drink. You can steal pitch signals and clubhouse audio. It's all good, sports bros. How you play the game is overrated.

Just root, root, root for the home team. If they don't win it's a shame. Cuz it's one, two, three strikes and you're still in cuz no one gives a fuck about integrity, at the ol' ball game. 🏀⚽️🏈⚾️

Him being a sports celebrity doesn't negate the fact that he's a rapist. Him being a black role model doesn't negate the fact that he's a rapist. Him being dead doesn't negate the fact that he's a rapist. Kobe Bryant is a homophobic rapist and I will shout it from the rooftops until he is rightfully forgotten.

I've been very perplexed by the hysteria.

r77 Why do you say he was homophobic?😯

Because grieving has become a selfish, attention whorey activity in recent years. That's why people photograph and videotape themselves crying after hearing the news of a dead celebrity or relative. As our culture has grown more "look at me! look at me!" our customs have too, grieving and mourning being one of them.

Let's just forget he was a rapist. Oh, sorry "alleged" rapist. And used a fucking helicopter in foggy weather to avoid traffic. So whatever. RIP

R79 He called a ref a faggot and has likely had other similar instances as well. It was quickly covered up by the media when his team saw a redemption opportunity and used his twitter to publicly scold a fan of his for using a gay slur. I doubt he had anything to do with that, considering it was online, but the calling the ref a faggot was all him. He did it in person, and in my opinion actions speak louder than tweets.

I don't understand at all the Spongebob gif at the OP and what it has to do with the thread. Would someone please explain?

I'm curious to see if other allegations will come out now that he's dead, like when Wacko died.

The GIF nicely illustrates the concept of "extra", R83.

Suck it, r68! Team Colman!!!

OP, You might be as wonderful a person as my good friend: blinkered as to the popularity of anything she isn't interested in.

I recently had to prove to her, with concert, album, and awards statistics, the world popularity of both Ricky Martin and Marc Anthony.

So just accept that Kobe Bryant was a superstar in a milieu not yours. But no scoffing or sneering allowed, if that milieu is extensive.

He also called a referee a "faggot", so it's mystifying why he's being deified on a gay message board.

R88 He isn't, he's being deified by ghetto straight people, broods that have been invading this site a lot lately. They crawl out of the woodwork whenever a thread on a black celebrity or some racial issue starts (that is, if they aren't the ones starting them).

Im an old Lakers fan. Like James worthy, Kareem, etc. I can see the attachment to Kobe even if I don't feel it myself. Sure it's overdone in many quarters, but he was just familiar, so I get the wailing. You watch a guy go through his career and he becomes familiar. He was no saint, he was just a fellow human being.

[quote] But no scoffing or sneering allowed, if that milieu is extensive.

Your rules do not apply here on datalounge!

Helicopters freak me out in general. You couldn't pay me enough to fly in a 29 year old Sikorsky S-76 helo.

[Quote]multiple lacerations to her vagina

When you go black your pussy will crack.

People seemed to forget he beat up his wife when she caught him cheating on her.

I live apparently in Kobeland, hard by his hometown in Montgomery County, PA. All major networks were interrupted for extensive local coverage, interviews, etc.

It's his daughter's death that compounds the tragedy.

The pilot, it is coming out, had one pot load of hubris. Almost a literal re-enactment of Icarus, but with fog instead of sun.

That's BS, R94.

Why did they call him Mamba?

The media only gets this hyped up when big black celebs die. They think everyone wants to see 24/7 coverage of it. We don't.

Part of it also has to do with the scandalous nature of his death. This wasn't a heart attack or an overdose, this was a very public and very dramatic helicopter crash. The media and the masses tend to be more engrossed with celebrity deaths of this nature.

[quote] Oh-and repaired his marriage and had 2 more kids.

R71, He didn’t have a prenup, so he’d be losing A LOT if she divorced him. Plus, she later found out about his (numerous) extra-marital affairs, so if she published a book about it, his “family-man” fake image and associated sponsorships would be hit hard.

Judging by that famous 8-carat purple ring he gifted her plus other gifts, he was trying to butter her up to stay and avoid a financial & PR mess for himself.

Vanessa was banned from a mall for bad public behaviour, so she’s a piece of work herself. Some sources in their circle claimed she loved the high social status of being the WAG of an NBAer.

why the need for such a rude thread...

omg the wife was a major skunt, ,,, lived to shop.

I don’t know, R101, ask Kobe “Fucking Faggot” Bryant via an ouija board.

R100, "Some sources say..."?! That's a NS, Sherlock if ever there was one!

R99, There was nothing "scandalous" about Kobe's death, other than its being pilot error.

[quote] "Some sources say..."?! That's a NS, Sherlock if ever there was one!

R104, are you lost, dear? This is a gossip site. And the reference was to this statement:

“Everyone knows its about much more than the money with this life,” says one well-known NBA wife. “Most of these guys cheat with other women, but the payoff [for Vanessa as the wife] is you get this great lifestyle. You get to attend Golden Globe parties, drive the newest cars, and wear the finest clothes. It’s hard to walk away from that no matter what, and most women don’t and won’t.”

R98 Riiiiiiight

R104 The scandal is in the dramatic and fiery helicopter crash. Just like how The Day The Music Died was scandalous.

wealth, celebrity and good health did not protect him.

R105, Are you challenged in reading comprehension, dear? I was pointing out that Vanessa's blatantly OBVIOUS love of the WAG high-life needed no qualifying "Some sources claim" attached. It's like saying, "Some sources claim that Trump is a grifting moron."

You know, as in NS, Sherlock!

Seems like the first two are sometimes inimical to the third, R108. If Bryant hadn't been a rich celebrity, would the pilot have been able to tell him 'no, we can't fly today because the weather isn't cooperating'?

R107, Check your Funk and Wagnalls.

The crash that killed Richie Valens, the Big Bopper, and Buddy Holly was not a "scandal."

My dad was and still is the better player.

Bye Felicia!

r1 Three little girls died and you’re concerned about why people are upset? You’re also a racist fuck.

This site is full of diseased, hateful faggots.

[quote] [R104] The scandal is in the dramatic and fiery helicopter crash. Just like how The Day The Music Died was scandalous.

Neither event was scandalous. Shocking and sensational, sure, but not a scandal.

R105, That's the thing about the wife that I am not getting. Vanessa doesn't seem involved in the WAG lifestyle. She isn't out with celebrities or attending the Kardashian Christmas party, she seems to be very low key. She appears very family oriented and was always with Kobe and her kids. I remember seeing them as a family attend the swimming events at the olympics years ago. They showed pictures from the Oscar party and they were mainly hanging together. She could be a bitch and into material things, but she didn't seem after a celebrity lifestyle. She could've divorced him and nearly did. Call me naive, but I think they really loved each other.

This is a great example of how low key they were. He could've have easily attended the Super Bowl or went/hosted a party, but he stayed home quietly with the family.

Everyone dragging Kobe in death here is as bad as straight white assholes who scoff at the death of anyone they don’t like and bitch why “nobody cares about the troooooops!!!” But then when it’s some athlete they like or rocker they listen to- only then is it okay to reminisce and RIP.

R100 I remember she and Kobe were sued by a former maid because Vanessa used to beat her in front of Kobe at times and he never intervened.

I feel bad that his daughter and her 2 friends died. All of the others really. Him, not so much. He was a rapist. And had a regular side piece who he could get rough with. By his own admission he cheated on the wife many times. Paid off the wife to stand by him after the rape accusation with a 4 million dollar ring. For all the talk of Gigi carrying on the family name in basketball, he wanted a son so bad that the wife gave birth to two kids in three years because they were “never going to stop trying for a boy”. How fucking weird is that?

Kobe is not the saint that people think he is. He was an adulterer and possible rapist.

They are being so extra for the same reason white folks had conniption fits when Elvis died. Or should we use Princess Diana?Heath Ledger? Or my baby daddy, Paul Walker? Goodness he was gorgeous! Or maybe the way that folks fell out over the Beatles whose music just wasn't that great.

Point being that people have an emotional connection to whomever they have an emotional connection. If it's not your cup of tea, then tally ho on.

Kobe was a gorgeous man and one of the greatest, refined athletes of all time. He was a joy to watch and lots of people loved him. It's okay to be extra when someone you love and admire dies. That's what empathetic normal people do.

Oh god the MARY-ing over Paul Walker. He was hot, but an ok actor. And the next two Fast and Furious movies were "for Paul".

MARY!!!

Why do you care about adultery so much? Rape - i get it, but OMG he cheated on his wife!!!! Who cares? Most men cheat.

What happened to this place? Is it still gossip board for gay men?

Mary-ing? Pishhh! Paul Walker need not have made a single movie and we could have settled down and made miracle babies lol! After the first one(F&F), they could have and should have stopped. Paul could have gotten it all day every day with a snap of a finger lol!

[quote] Kobe is not the saint that people think he is. He was an adulterer and possible rapist.

Really r120? It's so weird that no one commented on that before you came along.

Paul Walker was a pedophile who liked underage girls. So not hot either.

There is literally no celebrity...singer, writer, rock star, actor/actress, sports figure etc that I would be so sad to cry over if they died.

I don't know them. They don't know me. I'll never understand the folks who get so verklempt.

R121 Yiu said it perfectly.

First time I ever heard of him was when he died.

R129, Being culturally unaware isn't a bragging point.

[quote] Because the two most dramatic and extra people on the planet are sports fans and black people, and Bryant's fanbase combined both.

And the white gays who post here are the people on the planet who are the most lacking in self awareness.

R50 And don't even think about Ghost Raping me, toots!

R58 It makes me thinks of the school kids / high schoolers, particularly the girls, that give each other big hugs and kisses each time they see each other, and say 'I love you' all the time (whilst inserting knife in back).

All theatrics, no substance.

Appearing to have 'depth' is different to actually having depth.

"I never thought about my mortality until that black sports star, former sports star, died in a helicopter crash. Like, you know, you hear on the news about people dying, but you never think, oh 'I'm going to die too'. But with the passing of that black former sports star, and dying with his daughter, in a HELICOPTER, it just makes you think. You know what I mean?"

OP, as a gay go fuck yourself

R121 said it perfectly.

It's nothing new, OP.

R130 thinks a sports ball player is a part of culture....HA

Trump had hi, killed to deflect news focus on his impeachment trial

R137 That was pre-television and Molly - what else were they going to do?

Meanwhile, the downed Ukrainian Airlines flight is old news. On board were some of the brightest and most gifted doctors, researchers, academics and scientists. One of them helped to develop a treatment for a condition which affects 20,000 people a year, but, her life was worth nothing compared to a guy who had talent for tossing a ball around.

Society is fucked.

R141 you can’t even name her yourself you dumbfuck!

Dr. Forough Khadem, you piece of shit, R142.

I avoided people at work all day because I didn’t have the psychic headspace for people faux-mourning this guy more intensely than they’d mourn one of their own relatives. I took one quick little break and some guy who sublets came in with an entirely performed affectation and said, preceded by a great big SIGH. “So. Kobe.” And then he hung his head and shook it and someone else responded, so I scurried away and shut my office door.

Some of you are mad because Kobe was a straight black male not a prancing queen who played basketball. Heterophobic and racist assholes.

Didn't he rape someone?

The irony about "mourning" a sports celeb is that it's so skin-deep. The "mourning" mostly hinges on how many goals / points / touchdowns they scored. If they had won e.g. a Heisman Trophy in college, followed by a few excellent years being pros, but then had a multi-year losing, embarrassing, disappointing streak, not fulfilling fans' expectations - many people wouldn't care about them anymore.

They're not mourning a real person (because most people on Twitter didn't actually know these people or care about them as "people") - they're "mourning" a SCOREBOARD, along with some generic, superficial Disney-esque, Hallmark-type PR promoted by the sportsman's corporate sponsors ("family man", "practising Catholic", "had ca. $500 mill and tipped waiters & charities, throwing them a bone sometimes").

The only people who really "mourn" are those who actually knew the sportsmen well as close friends & family (warts and all, not the pristine, sanitised picture shown on corporate Nike adverts) and would "mourn" them even if they became bankrupt alcoholics and never received a single NBA prize.

R138, I believe the media as well as President Obama have proved me correct.

I didn't say "high culture." (P.S. I'm the one who said "Segovia" in the "greatest guitarist" thread. J/S.)

Oh, brother, r147. So okay, there's no politician whose death you might mourn? Not one person in Entertainment?

Phony baloney. You need to read a little John Donne, son.

I know nothing and care nothing about sports and I have zero tolerance for feigned collective devastation. Few are moved by this. It’s just a place to reassign anxieties about the world today.

That said, what’s a celebrity and who is relevant? Who is to say? Some people love basketball as fanatics and some people admire athleticism as I admire artistry. Data Lounge fawns over people who lie back and take strangers’ loads on camera, and guys who do even less, stripping down and posting odes to narcissism on Instagram. There must be at least a dozen new “This Instaho is hot!” threads a day here. And Timothée Chalamet because he is some frail waifboy who people here want to molest uncomfortably, which has even less appeal to me than professional athletes. So it’s all relative.

He had a huge fanbase and made a ton of money.

Oh, and we get it, r147. You were the dweeby picked-on kid in phys ed class in, what, ninth grade? So you've hated sports ever since.

Now I see Pitbull canceled an event because of Kobe. This is getting to be a bit much.

Very balanced, r150.

I'd still bet you were devastated at the death of Diana.

R150 I'm sure people want to make Timmy very comfortable while he is molested.

Where's the great loss to the general public?

The footage of his sporting prowess remains, the great stats remain, he was retired so it's not as if we don't get to see him play next week or the year after next. All his interviews will be there for a long time on YouTube.

How will he actually be missed, by all those that didn't know him, but still are in mourning?

If this happened to a gay Diva, it would NOT get the same attention. Even Trumpelskiskin chimed in on Kobe's death flight. I can see him doing that for Gaga or Mage. She would not be on every news channel 24/7.

Gays would be criticized for even publicly showing any sorrow. "oh you gays are so melodramatic, she's just an entertainer"

But straight black sport's figure with spawn? SKY IS FALLING, everyone please say a prayer now.

r157 According to Google searches, Whitney’s death got more attention than Bowie and Prince though obviously, not all of it was positive. She also got a statement from the President and the flag was put at half mast in her home state. She was the highest selling female artist of 2012.

Her legacy isn’t exactly pure and ironically enough, this site holds some of her largest critics so I’m sure that example isn’t good enough for you.

You would prefer a White diva, right ? People will certainly go crazy when Dolly Parton dies.

Kobe was only 41 and three little girls died too, it’s not the same as ancient fucking Madge or Barb.

You are unhinged to be so bitter about people mourning the loss of multiple innocent lies even if you didn’t think much about Kobe.

r156 He was one of biggest advocates of the WNBA because of his little girl. As she got older and became a star, more light would have been shined on the franchise.

The idea of a family losing a father and daughter is also extremely tragic. I would feel that way if I read that about a complete stranger. A video of him and his daughter smiling and discussing a basketball play when viral a few weeks ago. They seemed so happy and now they’re both gone.

It seems many posters on this board struggle with the concept of empathy so it’s really hard to explain.

[quote]]You would prefer a White diva, right ? People will certainly go crazy when Dolly Parton dies.

Uh, no they wont. Most people under 50 don't even know who she is. Probably think she is just some drag queen.

Whitney was black, so again, like others have said, its a black thing to be so high drama about someone you don't even know personally.

[quote]you are unhinged to be so bitter

Girl, Please, I could care less. I am just pointing out the ridiculousness of this. You on the other hand seem to be off your meds trying to justify all the over the top coverage of this. It's a one day story, accident just like thousand that happen every day in America. Move on.

r160 Dolly is regarded as a music icon. Are you out of your fucking mind? She literally has an amusement park. I’m 22 and I don’t know anyone that wouldn’t know who she was outside of my very young cousins.

White people lost their fucking minds over Robin Williams, David Bowie, Kurt Cobain, Heath Ledger and many other White stars.

Disgusts me to see all these people I follow on Instagram posting tributes to this man. The same people who attacked Trump for his misogyny. Who call out Republicans for their homophobia. Who post about "believe women". Suddenly, that doesn't matter.

Amazing to how the black community that hates gays so much because the are so fucking religious don't give a shit that someone routinely breaks the 7th commandment. He's still a god to them which of course violates #1

Because R162, all of those people gave something to us that made the world a better place. Songs we can sing to, movies that changed our lives.

Bouncing a orange ball on a floor is not exactly a contribution to society. It's just a skill, like pissing in a toilet instead of on the floor.

[quote]Disgusts me to see all these people I follow on Instagram posting tributes to this man.

So why do you follow them? If you are disgusted isn't the easiest fix to no longer be disgusted just hitting unfollow? And those of you who are outraged by the outpouring of grief over this man's death are the biggest fakes in the world. Some of you need serious psychiatric help.

r164 You’re back tracking on your previous statement that people only cared because Whitney was Black. It’s the same for Prince too? MJ? When a Black star dies, any mourning is just because Black people are dumb and overly emotional. They made no defining marks on the cultural landscape. Okay.

You are limp noodle who doesn’t know shit about sports if you don’t think they aren’t an equally valid form of entertainment that people find inspiring. Nearly the entire country comes together once a year to watch the fucking Super Bowl. There are many White athletes that people will go crazy over when they die too but I guess you’ll find a reason in your head for why it’s okay for them.

R119, if he really wanted a boy they could have easily done gender selection. Since the last two kids were girls I would conclude it really didn't matter and they just wanted to grow their family.

Just a few days later and people have moved on. We can't do anything about someone else's death so we act sad for a bit and continue on

R166, that's what it's really all about. They don't understand why this black guy's death has touched so many people.

r168 Three children died, people aren’t going to get over it anytime soon. Get over yourself

Dolly Parton told Christians to be more accepting of gay people.

Kobe Bryant used anti-gay hate speech and committed rape.

I would cry if Patrick Mahomes suddenly died

GO CHIEFS!

[quote] He also worked with the city of LA to cure homelessness.

It ain’t workin’.

It was a slow news day.

It's sad he died but thousands of people die each day and in the end all he did was play a game.

There are millions of people that actually do worthwhile things with their lives that should be honored

Reading all these editorials trying to say how complicated it is to mourn and honor the passing of a flawed person. Not once do they mention his homophobia because, well, that's ok. But they refer to the rape as if he was caught shoplifting. It's not complicated. He raped a woman. No sport accomplishment makes that any less than what it is. In fact it puts sports into perspective as meaningless.

This is why I always win the death poll. You pick your Olivia de Havillands and your Kurt Douglasses but you always throw in an out of left field celebrity like a Kobe Bryant.

I grew up in the 90s and watched a lot of basketball then, so this was very shocking for me, as it is for many of my peers who also grew up with him.

DL has huge threads on old actresses and celebrities who have died. I wouldn't go out of my way to say people are being extra about their deaths if I wasn't familiar with the person. The man perished with his own young daughter along with other families. Sometimes its ok to just scroll past things, there is no need disrespect the dead.

[quote] there is no need disrespect the dead.

The dead don't care, R177 - because they're dead. And the surviving family don't read a gay forum like Datalounge.

[quote] Oh, brother, [R147]. So okay, there's no politician whose death you might mourn? Not one person in Entertainment?

Millennial here. Absolutely no politician I would “mourn”, R149. World Politics is dirty business and they’re all tainted with dirty deals or wars or self-serving backstabbing. The whole ancient fantasy of “Our Great & Glorious Leaders are like Gods, Let Us Plebs Worship At Their Feet” has been shattered a bit in the Millennial age. Because we live in the Age of Information (there are more whistleblowers, more state-document disclosure, more international analysis & critique of each govt's controversial actions around the globe). They say “Ignorance is Bliss” - well, being more fully-informed OTOH often leads to disillusionment. Rational people no longer look at world leaders through rose-coloured glasses. And that’s a good thing because it helps rational people avoid cult-like behaviour like “mass mourning”.

Politicians are like CEOs - who studies suggest have one of the highest rates of psychopathy in the general population. It’s EXACTLY because of a lack of empathy to a certain degree that politicians, lawyers and CEOs advance in their field. Politics is a brutally competetive field and only the most jaded survive in it. Politicians are people who can order a nuke to be dropped on Hiroshima for “war efficiency” and not even lose much sleep over it. A regular ‘empathetic’ person in that position would have probably committed suicide later in life if he found out just how many innocent civilian and underage casualties happened in Hiroshima, or Baghdad, or Kabul. (The weight of controversial guilt would be too much for an emphatetic person). But top politicians almost never commit suicide in retirement because they have thick skin by nature and see human lives as 3D chess (any means to an end is “justified” in their view, as long as it secures self-serving national interests).

Nothing more exhausting, self-centered and insufferable than someone who thinks that because THEY don't get it, then it's everyone else who shouldn't.

We get it, OP and others on DL who (no surprise) make it about race as well. He was among the best in the history of his sport - a very popular sport around the world. Couple that with the way it happened and that his child was with him, there's your answer as to why it's getting the coverage it is. And BTW, it just fucking happened. It's not like it's been a week and you're still seeing it.

[quote] No man is an island, Entire of itself … Each man's death diminishes me … for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee”

If “EACH man’s death diminished me” - there’d be nothing left, R149. There are people & kids shown being killed by bombs & earthquakes & floods on national or international news every day, almost every hour. The “Bell” would be “Tolling” non-stop. Such a mentality would drive a person to insanity and suicide. (Btw, ironically, the poet you’re quoting was exactly suicidal and even wrote works in defence of self-homicide = suicide.)

Also, it’s nice that you’re quoting John Donne - but come on, he was a professional 16-17th C Church preacher who believed in the Resurrection. Of course he would teach “mourning” everyone in e.g. one’s small English village - including (of course) “mourning” the “death of our Lord & Saviour, Jesus Christ”. He was also a poet - the whole point of being a poet is to be over-emotional and over-sensitive about everything, even a flower wilting or a fly dying on the window-sill.

^ did you have to bring up a fly dying on a window sill?

At least he didn’t get sprayed to death with a can of Raid.

Yes, I did, R182. You have a problem with clergyman poets in Old England writing 400 years ago about wilting flowers and flies dying on their Tudor cottage's window-sill?

Send your customer complaint to John Donne's grave. I'm sure he'll get back to you when he's not busy being dead.

I don’t get it, either. Basketball is interesting sometimes but I’m not a fan. It seems like everyone feels the need to post a public reaction to celebrity deaths as if having access to social media makes them all mini-public figures who really need to have an opinion. Some of the more grating posts are from normal people who post about how difficult it is to process his death since he may have committed sexual assault.

Sorry, R180, speak louder, I can't hear you over all the mass-hysteria and over-the-top, herd-mentality wailing.

Rule of thumb: The richer & prettier the person - the weepier the wailing.

At least he didn’t turn classic cartoon characters into shoe shills.

OP, don’t try to defame all gay men just because of your individual disinterest in Sports. It’s not a gay thing; it’s a you thing. There are many gay men who love sports, play sports. You make it harder for gay athletes by perpetuating old, ignorant stereotypes.

R188 knows to focus on the important issues.

So what, you are not into sports? Realize that abnormal In our country, and ignore what you are not interested in. Why object to other people’s’ interests and mourning?

Fine, R188, you’ll be the one to have the bones of an 80-year-old when you’re 55.

R191, people make sacrifices for sports. Most don’t regret doing so

This is DL where more than half of the posters are bitter and miserable old queens with no one to love or give a shit about them.

[quote] Why object to other people’s’ interests and mourning?

Beats me, R190.

I feel bad about the daughter but otherwise I feel nothing.

"If they really wanted a boy they could have easily done gender selection"

Careful what you wish for.

R193 is correct. It really hit me on the thread asking if people have considered suicide. I was shocked at how depressed and isolated so many people here seemed to be. It explains a lot of the postings and attitudes

We're now getting a lot of the same echoes from Bryant fans as we heard from Michael Jackson fans, especially after his death.

He was never charged

He was acquitted

The accuser lied

It can't be true

Sports is a huge part of pretty much every society on this planet, but per usual, this place is full of isolated idiots who don't get it and so it must be wrong. Plus he was black, so even more fodder for the assholes on here (even without the rape, the reaction on here would've been just as callous).

I'm not even a basketball fan, but I certainly understand the reaction, particularly the shock of how it happened. Bitter old queens who like cheesy nonsense like Broadway can't understand it. I mean you're really in no position to talk. I was dragged to shows when I was a kid. Lamest, over-the-top nonsense. I don't get it, but if you enjoy it, good for you. See how that works?

It's mind boggling. There's another site I go on and some frau was acting like the widow Kobe trying to out grieve everyone. She posted that she couldn't breathe. That she couldn't stop crying. That her son was also distraught and was clutching his Kobe jersey . Mind you, her son is of college age and only watched him when he was a little kid. But despite her not being able to breathe or stop crying, she was still able to keep posting. Today, she had to post that she woke up in the middle of the night hoping that this was all a bad dream and when she realized it wasn't she started crying again. Seriously? WTF is wrong with people?

I understand a lot of people here were mistreated and ostracized by society, mainly those over 60, but that should make them more compassionate and understanding, not less so. I guess some people cope by being bitter and angry with the world

A lot of men have cried in the last 48 hours. At work, a dude said he felt suicidal over the news.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Why would anyone feel SUICIDAL over this? Distraught? Fine. Depressed? OK. But wanting to kill yourself? So dramatic and attention-seeking.

I mean...duh.

Yesterday I went to my insurance agency office to go over some stuff and the guy that helped me took me back to his office. In his office were framed photos of Kobe on all the walls, about 15 total, and nothing else.

I was hesitant to say anything, as he obviously was a super fan and I thought if I said something he might break down in his office.

[quote]A lot of men have cried in the last 48 hours. At work, a dude said he felt suicidal over the news.

Big deal. I cried over David Cassidy's death and Rick Schroder's arrest, but I got on with my life.

It's social media, R204. After the Great Celeb Raptures of 2016, it's a contest to see who can be the most broken.

I heard about women who wanted to kill themselves when Rudolph Valentino died.

You don't say, R208.

Straight men will cry over a basketball player, but won't pay child support for their own children.

R210 I'd be embarrassed to post a video like that of my own family, let alone anyone else

[quote] Oh, and we get it, [R147]. You were the dweeby picked-on kid in phys ed class in, what, ninth grade? So you've hated sports ever since.

Nope, R152, I did track in school and looove ice hockey and F1. I’m the one who contributed a lot to the current ice hockey thread on DL.

But I wouldn’t go SO FAR as to “mourn” any hockey player per se, it’s ridiculous - they have a hot ass but they can’t live forever. And if e.g. Crosby dies aged 41 - sure, (a bit) sad, but another who’s better, faster, younger & hotter will still come around eventually. Besides, they all have injury concussions by the age of 25, so it’s not like they’ll necessarily live long anyway. Brain encephalitis is a big thing in contact sports.

Sport is actually quite a dangerous profession, so it’s not unexpected for them to die relatively young. And even those who make it to retirement often lead an “adventurous lifestyle” and don’t have a good grasp of safety precautions. Because guys who choose sport as their main profession are often RECKLESS with their bodily safety by nature, many are adrenalin-junkies - ski accidents (Formula 1 GOAT Michael Schumacher), drug accidents, expensive vehicle accidents, etc. So I’m not that surprised a sportsman died in a fog accident, prioritising his busy schedule over basic safety.

I remember when the news broke about Schumacher’s ski accident. He had just retired in 2012. But by late 2013 / early 2014 he was in a ski accident, resulting in brain injury and leaving him in a medical coma for half a year. It rendered him a half-vegetable, he’s still not recovered and struggles to even communicate, maybe he never will. [bold]By deep irony, Schumacher (ca. 43) was around the same age as Bryant (41) at the time of his accident[/bold].

I had a big crush on Schumacher growing up. But I wouldn’t say I “mourned” him - that’s OTT. I accepted that he was a reckless athlete who had an unfortunate end to his life [in terms of his brain being fried by the accident]. He wasn’t my close friend and I didn’t delusionally fantasise that he and I were “buddies” - I liked him (he was well-spoken, good-looking, charitable and the GOAT, at that time at least - now Lewis Hamilton is posed to topple his record as the new GOAT). I wanted to fuck him. But why would I wail and “mourn” a person who I didn’t even know in real life.

I always knew that if we actually met and I found out more about his life and views - it's equally possible I'd be disenchanted and disillusioned with him in real life. Because the image these sportsmen (and their corporate sponsors and handlers) portray on TV can be quite different from real life.

[quote] Why would anyone feel SUICIDAL over this? Distraught? Fine. Depressed? OK. But wanting to kill yourself? So dramatic and attention-seeking.

Exactly.

There have been several celebrities I really loved who died, and I was very sad. I checked the news for mentions of them for a week afterwards. But I never felt suicidal or called off work because of it! People are a M E double S MESS.

She went to school with Kobe. I cant imagine the pain she feels. This is so pure

R214 I was pretty glum over Robin Williams (I'm a 90s kid) and I was kind of hit hard by Carrie Fisher as I had just decided to skip her last book signing in LA, but I never acted like my life was FOREVER CHANGED

[quote] the guy that helped me took me back to his office. In his office were framed photos of Kobe on all the walls, about 15 total, and nothing else.

Not even with mourning bands on them? How gauche.

Is there any homophobe Ellen doesn't love ?

R218, she is not petty and bitter. She’s a good person

Thank you for the thread, OP. Celebrity deaths and the breadth and depth of the grieving has always fascinated me. I knew Kobe to be an exceptional talent, a one on a generation sort of participant. Thus, I expected widespread upset and concern. His young age and the horrific circumstances of his death amplify the grief response; for many, the alleged rape reduces it.

At first, I felt the tribute at the Grammys was extra. AFAIK, Kobe was not in the recording industry. It appears the tribute stemmed from the intersection of black entertainment, basketball fandom, The LA community and the Grammys being held in the complex that was the venue for life’s work. So, I’ll accept that folks with the feels needed to work through that publicly. Though, I still feel like it was more appropriate for that to be done at the ESPN awards. Moreover, to the extent that actual recording artist deaths were ignored in the In Memoriam segment (which there were more than a few) to emphasize Kobe, I feel bad that others were ignored.

For me, I expect Dolly Parton and Hillary Clinton to hit hardest.

Hip hop rules modern culture, and basketball is a huge component of hip hop

I have zero interest in basketball, but the violent spectacular death of a young, charismatic, huge celebrity, plus the added poignancy of the daughter and others - it did deeply shock me and I did cry a little. I know, Mary! Plus I live in LA and he was such a fixture. People here are taking it hard.

[quote] [R218], she is not petty and bitter.

Of course not; she has money to insulate her from haters.

Most people are not Petty and so unforgiving, regardless of money

I think plane accidents are very sad because it would be a terrifying way to go. I did cry a bit over this, because of the kids and the fact they were doing something every parent in the world does—go to sports practice. It’s not like he died high on coke in a shootout. He was being a sweet dad, which makes his loss more poignant and terrible.

[quote] This is DL where more than half of the posters are bitter and miserable old queens with no one to love or give a shit about them.

Older people have seen A LOT in their day, R193, and are not as easily hysterical and spooked as some young people who were born yesterday and are gobsmacked & dumbfounded about Bryant’s death and think it’s the sports death / accident of the century.

Older DLers (the “queens” you diss) survived the AIDS epidemic and have seen a lot of famous gay and other icons bite the proverbial dust:

Freddy Mercury - died aged 45, around Bryant’s age (41).

Tennis champion Arthur Ashe, died in his 40s too - the FIRST-EVER BLACK tennis champ to be ranked No.1 in the World by international pundits and still the only black male who won Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open. Died due to an accidental HIV-infected blood transfusion.

Gay Olympic champion skater John Curry, died aged 44, around Bryant’s age.

Jerry Smith (held the NFL record for most career touchdowns by a tight end in history), died aged 43 due to AIDS, around Bryant’s age. Etc

Older people have seen a lot of celebs come and go and so have more perspective on life.

It's dark comedy that the young Twitterati heard about Bryant’s death and it ‘suddenly’ dawned on them that ‘life can be short & death exists’. It took Bryant to die for them to get this ‘deep epiphany’ about the ‘duh’ fact that life has a limited run and that shit sometimes happens in life.

R226, people of all generations are mourning his and others victims’ deaths.

Like I said in the other thread, the tone of these threads would be totally different if this was Madonna, Cher or Janet who died in an accident like this. Plain and simple. The hysteria is all relative to the audience.

R227, sure Jan, give me a demographic breakdown - it's obvious the wailing-type "mourners" skew more younger than older. The old have seen enough death in their day not to weep hysterically on video like R210.

[bold]Also, let's get the definitions right. What do you mean by "mourn"? Definition of "Mourn" = "feel or show SORROW for the death of (someone), typically by following conventions such as the wearing of black clothes."

Definition of "Sorrow" = "a feeling of DEEP DISTRESS caused by loss, disappointment, or other misfortune suffered by oneself or others."[/bold]

So some person simply saying "oh, gee, what a shame, that's a pity about those kids" and then changing the channel to the Food Network does NOT count as feeling or showing "sorrow" ("deep distress"). Likewise, posting on Twitter "my condolences" / "thoughts & prayers" and then going out for a party or a pedicure does not count as "deep distress".

[quote] Like I said in the other thread, the tone of these threads would be totally different if this was Madonna, Cher or Janet who died in an accident like this. Plain and simple.

I don't know about the other two, but DL seems to be over Madonna, R228. Many DLers are calling her out for being embarrassing now and past-her-prime and advising her to go away already. Though I do think she'll get more credit on DL because she possibly was, IIRC, a more vocal gay supporter than most celebs back in her day.

The Janbot troll is obviously obsessed with Jackson, but that's an extreme fanatic.

Sources: Multiple NBA players have begun informally retiring Kobe Bryant’s jersey number(s) as a tribute — with Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie among them, changing from No. 8 to No. 26.

[quote] His young age ... amplify the grief response

He wasn't that young.

Must be really hard for rape victims to be seeing a rapist lauded by so many people, many of whom are supposed to be on their side. Disgusting

But r174, it wasn't. Bolton's bombshell was the story.

[quote] Must be really hard for rape victims to be seeing a rapist lauded by so many people, many of whom are supposed to be on their side. Disgusting

In the majority white nation where that white majority elected a serial predator/rapist to the highest office in the land and in a nation where that majority continues to support him; why would the public mourning for a retired basketball star (whose rape case was dropped when the accuser refused to testify) be difficult? In a nation where the white majority in Alabama tried to elect a serial predator (who had been banned from shopping malls) to represent them in the senate; why would this be difficult?

[quote] per usual, this place is full of isolated idiots who don't get it and so it must be wrong. Plus he was black, so even more fodder for the assholes on here … Bitter old queens who like cheesy nonsense like Broadway can't understand it. I mean you're really in no position to talk.

R199, “liking” cheesy Broadway shows is very different from publicly BAWLING about some distant celeb on social media.

If Steven Sondheim had driven off a cliff with his extended family a few decades ago, I would feel a bit sad for his surviving relatives, but wouldn’t be breathing into a paper bag in the print room, or breaking down in tears next to the office water-cooler.

[quote] Hip hop rules modern culture, and basketball is a huge component of hip hop

College and professional sports are a billion dollar religion in this country and that was true before hip hop music. Sports and pop music are a huge component of popular culture. Americans worship athletes, entertainers and anyone who is wealthy and successful, Why is this news to anyone?

Good for you, r235. That was a completely innocent comment that most normal people would not find issue with, but you managed to turn it into some self righteous screed about Trump. Way to go!

Wikipedia: "Mourning sickness" = a collective emotional condition of "recreational [often ostentatious] grieving" by individuals in the wake of [rich] celebrity deaths ...

TIL a new term. This is actually educational.

Popular music is dying because of Madge and her hegemony over the industry.

It's really not extra. It's a troll question. Unexpected death of an American superstar and this is what you get in the age of social media. The worst of it are for the families of course; the sisters, the mom et al.

[quote]Is there any homophobe Ellen doesn't love?

I get that you allow your racism to live through these attempts to justify them by screaming "homophobe," but I'm pretty sure that if you heard a person once use "nigger," you'd claim they weren't necessarily racist.

Perhaps pay attention to what Kobe has actually done instead of obsess over a pejorative that you know damned well a lot of people have used and aren't actively homophobic. And people DO change...but I'm guessing him being black makes you enjoy hating him.

[quote] Good for you, [R235]. That was a completely innocent comment that most normal people would not find issue with, but you managed to turn it into some self righteous screed about Trump. Way to go!

Self righteous? Typical projection from your kind. A helicopter crash that killed 9 people, including Bryant and his young daughter is not the moment that should be used for a faux rape crusade, particularly when a rapist whom the white majority still supports lives in the white house.

R233 most people aren’t feminazi idiots and can see it was just one accuser who would not be able prove in a trial if it was Kobe who destroyed her vagina or the other men she got fucked by the day before ! Now if there were many other accusers at the time and afterwards it would be a different story.

[quote] And people DO change...

Some people do - and some people don't, R242:

NESN Report: "Kobe Bryant Continues to Apologize for Homophobic Slur, But Still Hasn’t Learned a Lesson. Bryant is APPEALING the fine. Yes, appealing. Why is he appealing the fine? It's certainly not because he can't afford to pay it, which would beg the question, does he not think his action was deserving of this fine? Why would he bother to apologize and claim to take responsibility for his actions if he was going to appeal the punishment he received? Doesn't seem to make much sense. Kobe Bryant hasn't learned a lesson about the harm done through using a homophobic slur, which is clearly evidenced by his APPEAL. This is exactly why a harsher penalty is necessary in this case."

R231, Kobe's jersey # was 24.

The unforgiveness and bitterness among the extreme social justice warriors and activists Is what happens when you have a group of people without higher moral and religious values to purge them of base impulses and toxins. Ruthless unforgiveness is ugly

R245, and that was BEFORE what I linked to...so yeah, people change. What you linked was 2011. What I linked was 2013...so you apparently have no clue what the word change means.

Are you that desperate to grasp onto to hating him? Meanwhile, I don't doubt it doesn't take much for you to vote GOP.

-to

What R247 is trying to say is.....

R247, and what's funny is the people screaming homophobe at him are the very ones who whine about "SJW" and "political correctness" - meanwhile, they can't see they're exactly the same as those people. They're holding onto a slur he once used a decade ago and he has since apologized to the point of calling out homophobia and that isn't enough for them. So fucking self-centered and hypocritical. Only allowed to hold a grudge when you're gay...every other group can fuck off, I guess.

Amen brother!

This one near broke me

[quote] The unforgiveness and bitterness among the extreme social justice warriors and activists Is what happens when you have a group of people without higher moral and RELIGIOUS VALUES to PURGE them of BASE IMPULSES and toxins.

Lol, R247. I guess the Catholic Church and Holy See has finally stumbled upon Datalounge.

Welcome, Father.

[quote] Only allowed to hold a grudge when you're gay...every other group can fuck off, I guess.

lol. Oh, you've got to be kidding me! Kevin Hart's career is still going strong, despite his vile homophobia. Joy Reid still has a career, even after her disgusting homophobic posts. And those are not the only ones. Name a single white person who would get away with saying the same thing about black people and still have a career.

A legend.

If there is a good thing that can come of any celebrity death, this could be it.

Sorry - thought the story behind the petition would be included in the above link.

Trying again:

[quote]Name a single white person who would get away with saying the same thing about black people and still have a career.

Who did you vote for in the last election?

[quote] Kobe's jersey # was 24.

Um, what’s your point?

[quote]Name a single white person who would get away with saying the same thing about black people and still have a career.

Mel Gibson

Paris Hilton

Conor Mcgregor

Charlie Sheen

Kid Rock

Camila Cabello

Decades and decades and decades of people who've gotten away with it, idiot.

[quote]Name a single white person who would get away with saying the same thing about black people and still have a career.

The president of the US who was elected specifically because assholes like you think the same way. Bigotry and racism for thee, not for me. Fuck off, you self-centered douchebag.

Oh yes, the thriving careers of Kid Rock and Paris Hilton! Such respected people in the entertainment industry. Meanwhile, Kevin Hart is one of the highest paid entertainers in show business, despite being an unfunny buffoon.

The fucking president of the UNITED STATES, you idiot! The one you voted for. And you only mentioned two fucking people. Even if you took out those two I mentioned, my list is still longer than yours.

Wow, a whole TWO people: Kevin Hart and Joy Reid. THAT'S all it took for you to be a fucking asshole towards ALL black people. You ignore what white homophobes actually do and don't make it about their race. You're an asshole.

[quote] so you apparently have no clue what the word change means.

R248, you “apparently have no clue” that Bryant stupidly tried to blame OTHER strangers for being homophobic without any logical reason (i.e. erroneously blamed OTHERS as a podium for himself to claim he’s not homophobic):

“Bryant was responding to a message from user @pookeo9, a 16-y.o. Canadian, and a subsequent response from @pacsmoove. The first tweet was directed to the @kobebryant handle and read, "Let's MAKE OUT in bed Kobe." @Pacsmoove retweeted that message, adding "you're gay" to the beginning.”

So what was the problem with that? If a guy tweets to another guy (Bryant) that he wants to “MAKE OUT IN BED” with him, and a 3rd guy says to the 2nd guy well “you’re gay” then - WHAT is the problem? How is a guy wanting to “make out in bed” with another guy not “gay”? Notice that NO ONE used Bryant’s OWN incendiary slur “fucking faggot” in this exchange. The word “gay” is not a slur in this context - because the context here was the first guy’s (serious or light-hearted) fantasy of a male-on-male kiss in bed with his jock 'hero'. It was the opposite of “homophobic” - it actually was offering gay intimacy, lol.

Bryant then saw this as an opportunity to misdirect from his own behaviour by ‘admonishing’ these 2 guys for NON-homophobic tweets. He tweeted: "Just letting you know @pacsmoove @pookeo9 that using 'your gay' as a way to put someone down ain't ok! #notcool delete that out ur vocab."

This whole situation is ridiculous. The first tweet was from a guy who offered Bryant to make out (which IS “gay” and there’s NO SHAME in that). The 2nd guy merely confirmed that it’s gay.

But apparently being propositioned like this (in seriousness or in jest) really pissed Bryant off. It seems Bryant doesn’t want anyone mentioning the word “gay” on his Twitter. As if the observation “you’re gay” when describing sexual fantasies of “making out” with jocks is somehow 'homophobic’, lol. Oh, my sides.

[quote] and that was BEFORE what I linked to...so yeah, people change.

No, he still APPEALED the fine. So he said “sorry” but when it came to putting his money where his mouth is (i.e. paying the fine for homophobic language, which wasn’t even a big sum for his salary-level), he basically gave everyone the finger and refused to pay up.

It became a PR scandal, so as a PR face-saving measure, the NBA put Bryant into their LGBT campaign.

He’s not a real “ally” - he’s only doing this because he got FINED and publicly slapped down by his bosses @ the NBA (and he resisted the NBA on this and pathetically appealed). If this scandal got any bigger, he would have potentially lost his $$$ endorsements - so he had no option but to cooperate.

[quote] Are you that desperate to grasp onto to hating him? Meanwhile, I don't doubt it doesn't take much for you to vote GOP.

I don’t “hate” him, Taylor Swift @ R248. I simply don’t worship him like you. And I don’t “vote GOP”, I vote Labour (who make your Dems look right-wing by comparison).

Reblogging fried chicken and black men can’t swim memes, is really not anything close to what reid and hart said! Nice try though.

I love it that #GirlDad is number one Trender today. God is bringing beauty out of tragedy.

R269, God is bringing beauty out of stupidity.

The Los Angeles County coroner’s office is working on positive identifications of each set of remains recovered from the crash site, officials said.

Three of the bodies were recovered on Sunday afternoon, officials said, but it took another day to locate the remaining six.

There wasn’t a black box, and there isn’t a requirement to have a black box” on this helicopter, Jennifer Homendy, a member of the N.T.S.B., said at a news conference on Monday.

But there was an iPad in the helicopter that included the ForeFlight application, which pilots use while in the air to review flight plans, monitor weather briefings and more, she said. Investigators would review the iPad and other evidence recovered from the crash site, which extended about 500 to 600 feet away from the center of the wreckage.

LA PD was not flying due to weather. But Kobe's schedule was more important. He used to doing what he wanted, no matter what. Tragic that others were lost.

For Kobe.

[quote] For the gays, it would be the equivalent of Barbra Streisand crashing into her Malibu compound.

From your mouth to God's ear...

People are still mourning him and crying over his death. Get over it. He was just rich scum.

Travis Kelce on Kobe Bryant: “The Earth won’t be the same without him here.... It’s one of the saddest things I’ve ever heard.”

There'll be far less CO emissions from Kobe's frequent helicopter trips, R276, so he's kind of right.

In LA, flags are at half-mast and the buses have "RIP Kobe" on the front ticker.

As a black dude, it feels very much Iike our Superman has died. It really hurts.

R235, the difference is that I will be relieved when Trump and Moore died and am mortified they’re viable.

[R235], the difference is that I will be relieved when Trump and Moore die and am mortified they’re viable

r272 as it was discussed in the other thread, it is highly unlikely that he would put his own child's life in danger to keep a schedule. This was just another day in his life and he probably didn't think anything of the conditions. He was probably preoccupied with his phone, or conversation with his daughter or guests. That's really what makes this very unfortunate.

Colleges offering grief counseling

His parents were money grubbers who spent most of his adult life mad at him, fighting with him about his money and/or not talking with him. Now he and his daughter are dead

r284 I figured he had strained relationships in his life since he was essentially a child star/teen phenomenon. He was really acting out when Shaq started to hate him too. I hope he mended those relationships.

R39 He didn't fuck her up the ass.

Shaq is really hurting

It's one thing for people who really knew him to be extra, but half of social media is in Widow's Weeds.

When you have to write a post to indicate that you don’t care about something - you care about it plenty.

Has Susan Dey commented yet?

I assume that the weather in Orange County at takeoff was clear and they entered unfavorable conditions as they flew north where the marine layer rolls into the mountains and the Valley. Due to its geography the LA area has a lot of microclimates— reduced visibility must be a major concern for pilots in a coastal region like that.

R101 I'm with you on that sentiment, 101. It doesn't matter if we hated Bryant or loved him...a fellow human being was violently killed along with his daughter, another little girl and her mother and some other people in a helicopter crash. He was no saint and no monster, but that doesn't matter. And how other people reacted is their business. It is sad whenever anyone dies like that, especially when their young daughter dies too. Petty hatefulness is just toxic and unnecessary. (On the other hand, it would not be sad if Trump were to die like that! - So...exception to the rule.)

Now, of course I am going to be crucified and called a cunt and vilified and told if I don't like it to leave this forum, but I am going to stand up for what I believe. Some of the extreme toxicity on this forum makes me tired. It used to be a lot more fun and welcoming here before a few months ago when the format changed and so many things are gone now and strict rules and regulations make it hard to have good natured, fun posts, like we often used to have. I don't particularly love the "bitchy" attitude that is a badge of honor here. I'm no Pollyanna and have some bitchy, outrageous friends like that but this forum is relentless in it's hatefulness and it is tiresome. I have a feeling that some day, when it's too late, some people will realize that being mean all the time was a mistake. Karma.

And now, the attacks on me and my blunt but sincere opinions, begins.... BTW, I really am not trying to offend anyone. Just making an observation. Strictly my opinion. It's always better to be nice than it is to be mean. And being nice is *not* a sign of weakness. It is a sign of strength.

I hate the internet and the anonymous trolling. There'll be a movement in the future, a revolution, when all the infrastructure of the digital world will be destroyed and the formal religions, having been co-opted by the digital overlords, will be smashed, and a true transcendental agrarianism will spread though the public spheres...…..

Anyway, Kobe was a heroic personage, a cultural icon, and this old white gay man is still profoundly saddened by a life ended too soon.

R293, This is a thread about the extremely OTT reaction from people that never met the man. Nobody's saying Kobe was a piece of shit that deserved to die.

I turned it on Kimmel last night and he has a speech about Kobe instead of a monologue. Yes I am cynical but he knew it would go viral.

Glad Colbert wasn't on last night so he can skip over all the Kobe stuff although he probably will bring it up

R20 if you literally grew up with him, you would know him.

R130 worshipping someone who made hundreds of millions playing a game a ten-year old plays in P.E. is not being culturally aware.

[quote] doesn’t know shit about sports if you don’t think they aren’t an equally valid form of entertainment that people find inspiring.

I find porn inspiring. It's just about as much talent.

Thank god a bunch of white people died along with him, or it would be conspiracy theories galore.

The last time blacks came out to see something on the streets in numbers like this involved OJ and a white Bronco.

I'm not in LA, but he transcended race and location. Everyone is commenting on his death in every day life. I will say, seeing LA and the people coming out, it looks about 75%-80% hispanic.

I was in LA when it happened, no it was not Mexican that came out to see it. It was 90% black from what I saw. And when OJ won the case, they had cameras all over the city, everyone was shocked and let down, except where the black people hang out, there were cheers and celebrations. I am not exaggerating either. Pardon the pun, the the response was that black and white.

R290 Now that is why he was called the mamba. His mamba was bigger than the actual snake itself.

R304, sorry, I meant about Kobe. Yes, OJ reaction really split along racial lines. It's why he got off.

R305, 290 is an obvious fake

On Monday and Tuesday in LA, I've seen two grown-ass men over forty wearing Kobe's full uniform AT WORK.

R299, Your comment is nonsensical. Literally.

Nobody "worship(ped)" Kobe---or JFK (pere or fils), or Diana, or Elvis, or the "Challenger" astronauts, or Marilyn Monroe, John Lennon, Freddie Mercury, or....you get the point.

It is that to be unaware, even to the level of boasting or sneering at those who ARE aware, of the fame of the deceased---in the face of resultant INTERNATIONAL media reactions, is not a merit badge.

So sorry to all the posters here who bizarrely think that pro sports are somehow NOT a huge element of Popular Culture. Do you think Caitlyn Jenner would be on your radar had Bruce Jenner not been an Olympic champion? Or OJ's trial would've been televised and later made into a TV series had Simpson not been a superstar athlete? I mean, are you that completely obtuse about where sports fit into the American national psyche?

God forbid you should turn on your television this Sunday---you might become apoplectic over attention paid to a certain sporting event. I'm sure it isn't part of our Popular Culture, though.

Because YOU don't think it should be, or is.

Why couldn't it have been EJ Johnson? Why???

Why? Is he a rapist too?

R309 the most nonsensical, rambling addled post ever.

EJ is living proof that Kobe didn't miss out not having a son to carry on his legacy.

R313 AHEM

[quote] Nobody "worship(ped)" Kobe---or JFK (pere or fils), or Diana, or Elvis, or the "Challenger" astronauts, or Marilyn Monroe, John Lennon, Freddie Mercury, or....you get the point.

R309, that’s not true. There are crazy people with literal Diana memorials and DIY-altars IN THEIR HOME. That is cray-cray worship. Same for Elvis. Same for some crazy superstans of Kobe. They venerate & revere them as if they were the second coming = worship.

[quote] It is that to be unaware, even to the level of boasting or sneering at those who ARE [culturally] aware, of the fame of the deceased ... is not a merit badge.

Venerating, "even to the level of" worshipping, an NBA shooting-guard for being good at dribbling a ball is also not a "merit badge". It's a reminder that basketball is an inconsequential, niche game.

[quote] Do you think Caitlyn Jenner would be on your radar had Bruce Jenner not been an Olympic champion?

Kim Kardashian would still have released the pornographic sex tape - so, yes, her step-dad would still be on the radar.

[quote] So sorry to all the posters here who bizarrely think that pro sports are somehow NOT a huge element of Popular Culture.

Sports is a part of pop-culture. (Though not everyone follows the same sports).

But so is PORN - most straight males in the US know who Sasha Grey and Jenna Jameson are. So would “mourning” porn-stars Sasha & Jenna if they fell in a canyon make one "culturally-aware” in the 21st C? By that logic, yes.

[quote] he transcended race and location.

So did Psy's Oppa Gangnam Style.

[quote] Anyway, Kobe was a heroic personage, a cultural icon … There'll be a movement in the future, a revolution, when all the infrastructure of the digital world will be destroyed and the formal religions, having been co-opted by the digital overlords, will be smashed, and a true transcendental agrarianism will spread though the public spheres...…..

“Heroic personage”? “Transcendetal agrarianism”? “Revolution [against] digital overlords”?

MARY!

[quote] as it was discussed in the other thread, it is highly unlikely that he would put his own child's life in danger to keep a schedule. He was probably preoccupied with his phone, or conversation…

Being inattentive to dangerous weather conditions for flying can be reckless, R282. Recklessness = putting your offspring in danger.

[quote] This was just another day in his life and he probably didn't think anything of the conditions.

That’s what they said onboard the Titanic.

*unattentive

[quote] And how other people reacted is their business.

R293, no, regarding people who publicly share & upload their extra “reactions” on Twitter & other [italic]social[/italic] media or other [italic]public[/italic] platforms (and even post videos of their reactions) - for the attention of the [italic]public[/italic] or for views & likes - that’s no longer simply “their business”, but public uploads & actions inviting others in society to comment on such uploads, speeches and actions.

[quote] Petty hatefulness is just toxic and unnecessary.

You tell them, Taylor Swift!

[quote] Now, of course I am going to be crucified and called a cunt and vilified and told if I don't like it to leave this forum, but I am going to STAND UP for what I believe.

Double Mary!

[quote] this forum is relentless in it's hatefulness

Its, not “it’s”.

[quote] I have a feeling that some day, when it's too late, some people will realize that being MEAN ALL THE TIME was a mistake. Karma

Lol. Those big bad “meanies”!

And, wow, this really IS Taylor posting! I loved your old stuff, Tay-Tay! But your new stuff is so milquetoast. Are you still secretly dating Karlie Kloss?

[quote] It's always better to be nice than it is to be mean. And being nice is *not* a sign of weakness. It is a sign of strength.

I’ve run out of my daily supply of Marys.

[quote] It used to be a lot more fun and welcoming here before a few months ago when the format changed and so many things are gone now and strict rules and regulations make it hard to have good natured, fun posts, like we often used to have.

What “many things are gone now”, R293? Even DL veteran Erna is still here. I saw her post in Nov, so the old gal is still alive & kicking. I haven’t seen Janbot for awhile but I think she’s winter-hibernating and living off her fat reserves.

As for “strict rules & regulations”, well:

^Oh, drats, meant to link this instead:

R20, yours is the sweetest post I’ve ever read here.

I’m not the person to whom you responded, however, thank you.

💜💛

OP your Sponge Bob gif makes me laugh

“It’s hard to look at all these hills the same way now,” a man wearing a No. 24 Bryant jersey said, asking he not be identified because he’d taken a second straight sick day from work to cope with his feelings about the death of a 41-year-old man he’d never met. “Because the helicopter ran into one of them.”

MARY!

The man liked to tempt fate.

"Toward the end of Kobe Bryant’s career, Rob Pelinka decided he had to save Bryant from himself, and, well, save himself from Bryant.

So he pulled out a copy of the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement and scoured the uniform player contract for language that would keep Bryant from jumping out of an airplane with a parachute, and forcing his agent to do it too.

Pelinka found it.

So Bryant got wiser the next time. Shortly after his retirement, the two set out on a helicopter ride and Bryant didn’t tell Pelinka of his daredevil plan. Bryant and the pilot looked at each other and Bryant nodded subtly. Suddenly, to Pelinka’s horror, the helicopter zoomed into military maneuvers designed to terrify the passengers , with the coup de grace coming near the end when the pilot shut off the engine in midair.

“My life was flashing before my eyes,” Pelinka told The Times. “I almost had a heart attack. Kobe’s just sitting there calm and collected.”

The helicopter floated toward the ground. After a few moments of thrill/panic, the pilot turned the engine back on and brought the two old friends to safety."

I would've punched him in the face when I got on the ground.

[quote] “It’s hard to look at all these hills the same way now,” a man wearing a No. 24 Bryant jersey said … “Because the helicopter ran into one of them.”

Are Angelenos going to rename one of those hills into “Bryant Hill”?

[quote] “[the man,] asking he not be identified because he’d taken a 2nd straight sick day from work to cope with his feelings”

Will the tears never end?

I don't follow sports, so when my BF called to tell me about the crash, I had to ask him to remind me who he was. And once it registered with me, I remembered the alleged crime. In the meantime, when I was busy taking a break from working, I kept hearing/reading word from more and more public figures: athletes, actors, singers, politicians, all expressing how devastated they were. It reminded me, of a couple years ago, I saw my neighbor's son in a dance performance at the nearby University. I looked him up on FB, figuring I'd mention that I caught his work, and congratulating him. Then I saw that this teenager had managed to collect over 17K 'friends'. Social media has made it so easy to 'connect', that many meanings have lost value.

[quote] “Shortly after his retirement [in 2016, so recently], [Bryant and his agent] set out on a helicopter ride and [bold]Bryant didn’t tell Pelinka of his DAREDEVIL PLAN. Bryant and the pilot looked at each other and Bryant nodded subtly.[/bold] Suddenly, to Pelinka’s horror, the helicopter zoomed into military maneuvers designed to terrify the passengers , with [bold]the coup de grace coming near the end when the pilot SHUT OFF THE ENGINE IN MIDAIR. “My life was flashing before my eyes,” Pelinka told The Times. “I almost had a heart attack”.[/bold]

Good find, R326. Doesn’t surprise me in the least. As I suspected in R213, athletes (even retired athletes) are often adrenalin-junkies by nature. Adrenalin-junkies like to lead “adventurous lifestyles” and often don’t let safety concerns stop them.

Add to that that Bryant had a ballpark $600-million fortune and was hailed as the GOAT in his circle, with yes-men, hangers-on and fanatical fans all kissing his half-billionaire feet. The immense money $$$ & the social echo-chamber possibly went to his head and he thought he was invincible.

Sports-stars usually think: ‘If “God” gave me so much and I out-competed so many strong, big guys on the court - why would some ‘banal’ “fog” stop me. ‘Heavy fog’ might ground LAPD choppers & cops - but I am Kobe “the GOAT” Bryant. So no switched-off-in-midair chopper engine can hurt me and no ‘silly’ “heavy fog” can kill me either.’

Obviously they didn’t switch off the engine in midair this time - but it still shows his propensity, and even affinity, for risky chopper journeys.

I bet the agreement to fly in different choppers came from his wife, not him - given that he was prone to recklessness & how he had already previously caused a panic attack & health scare for his agent.

^It’s also notable that his NBA bosses kept him on a shorter leash while he was still playing under their contract (which mandated a higher level of safety for their valuable star player).

But as soon as he retired just a few years ago - it seems he went off the rails in terms of safety: immediately started ordering daredevil “tricks” in helicopters (why the HECK would you order a trick to shut off the engine midair, especially when your co-passenger and agent was not prepared for such a terrifying fright-game), and then also recklessly flying with your kid in heavy fog.

R180 OP's comment didn't mention race at all. Perhaps you're projecting?

R188 stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason.

I have a feeling you're next going to complain about "bi erasure*".

This:

^Somebody should throw him some change.

🙄.

A special tribute at the Oscars, why?

R293 That's the whole point of the thread. It's NOT their business if they are crying on Instagram for all to see. That's the "extra" part of this thread. Your poetic rambling is fine for another thread but this is about "extra".

I hope they get Brie Larson to do the special tribute. Watching her show her disgust like when she had to give Casey Affleck his Oscar would at least make it bearable

Kobe knew he needed a 🚁 if he was going after Wilt Chamberlain’s record. You can’t sit in bumper to bumper traffic all day if you’re going after the big numbers!

His spread may have comprised hundreds of far flung fields that he had to seed & plow over hundreds of miles. You’re not playing in the big leagues if you’re grounded even in a limo.

The Major Players all have their air game going.🚀

R337. He won an Oscar for a short cartoon he created. That is why the Oscar will be paying homage to him. I know that burns you hater.

Why do black people love to refer to everyone as "haters"? He did a short cartoon. He's not Ingmar Bergman.

R342 He bought an Oscar and made a short cartoon about himself as a vanity project.

Yes, R315, and I also am quite aware of those porn stars. Do I win?

As for your "worship" rebuttal: a few freaks about Diana do not a Zeitgeist make.

Moreover, I totally disagree about the likelihood of there being a Kim K. sex tape minus a connection to a famous athlete---only in her case, it needn't have been my example of Bruce Jenner, for Kim's notoriety actually succeeded her father's, one of the lawyers for and close friend of OJ SIMPSON.

R282 - ", it is highly unlikely that he would put his own child's life in danger to keep a schedule."

Missing the point. The rules including weather didn't apply to him. Not taking that into account especially when others involved is the real issue.

Well, r344, if you want to put the Academy Awards voting system and/or its corruption into play, you might want to begin a separate thread.

It’s the pilot’s call whether to take off or not. If the pilot deferred to Bryant the pilot is still to blame because he is supposed to have the final authority.

R346, And sadly for the other victims, Kobe chose a similarly reckless pilot, one who believed he could fly when others were incapable, and one who was granted that permission from professionals who should have been less star-struck and more weather-conscious.

Lawsuits will come post-haste.

Granted special permission, r348.

I don't understand the people are turning this into a race thing. From what I've seen, white people are just as upset as black people about this. In some cases, even more so. This is one of those deaths that has transcended race. But DL is gonna be DL, I guess.

R342 I didn't ask why he would be included in the memorial section, I was asking why would he get a special tribute. Winning an Oscar for a short film does not mean you deserve special recognition. You can't do that and then let Doris Day and Albert Finney just be shown in a montage.

R352 It's because he's black and an athlete, why do you even have to ask that question? The answer is obvious to anybody with half a brain.

Doc Rivers breaks down

Will the tears ever end?!

Well, Anderson Cooper is interviewing relatives of the other people killed on that helicopter. They’re famous too now!

Much like I looked out the other day here in LA and though, "gee it's foggy," I am now noting it's very windy this morning. Celebs should factor that in to their copter travel.

A black athlete wins an Oscar and racist idiots in this thread said he bought it for himself. It burns racist piece of shits like you guys that a black straight athlete is getting so much attention not just in sports but in the gayest form of award entertainment. Fall back haters.

A black athlete wins an Oscar and racist idiots in this thread said he bought it for himself. It burns racist piece of shits like you guys that a black straight athlete is getting so much attention not just in sports but in the gayest form of award entertainment. Fall back haters.

R358 An example of black men that deserved their Academy Awards: Mahershala Ali, Sidney Poitier, Morgan Freeman, Cuba Gooding Jr.

An example of a black man that didn't deserve his Academy Award and paid for it: Kobe Bryant.

I get the large grief for those in LA and SoCal. He was extremely famous there, a very big icon in that area. I understand the shock for everyone there, sports fans or not.

Here on the East Coast I'd say it's hit sports and basketball fans, obviously. Otherwise its another tragic accidental celebrity death, and being treated as such. People outside of SoCal might have trouble understanding the impact on the people there, believing the reaction to be OTT, when it probably isn't.

Like I told a colleague, who grew up in Boston - a big Patriots fan - imagine if Tom Brady died today in a plane crash. He got it .

R360. You are envious and pissed because you can't dictate who gets a shine at the Oscars. Thank God losers like you have no impact on anyone. Not a lot of people will shed a tear when you die so it is understandable why you are such a hater.

It's always interesting when people lash out at others whose opinion they disagree with. They often reveal themselves to be far worse than what they are protesting. ^^

R360, And you know of this bribery how?

Before he was heaven's angel:

Retired NBA star Kobe Bryant may have an Oscar to show for his and director Glen Keane’s animated short film “Dear Basketball,” but he won’t be granted entry into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Individuals who win an Academy Award or are nominated for one are often considered for inclusion in the organization, which numbered more than 8,000 members at most recent count. Bryant was considered as well, and the Academy’s Short Films and Feature Animation branch actually voted in the affirmative to admit him into the branch.

However, the Academy’s governors committee overruled the decision and rescinded the invitation, Variety has confirmed. Though the branch, through governor Bill Kroyer, argued that Bryant has expressed a desire to work in the short films space, the committee felt the Los Angeles Lakers legend needed to show evidence of a larger career in the field before being allowed to represent it as a member of the organization.

The Academy has been criticized of late for a perceived lowering of standards in its increasingly robust invite lists, which have been bullish on inclusion and diversity following a few years of #OscarsSoWhite controversy. Some have argued that a number of recent invitees have not amassed a career deserving of an Academy invite, but this marks a rather high-profile example of the organization, at least outwardly, maintaining a focus on those standards, regardless of celebrity.

Indeed, Bryant’s name would have no doubt been a bold-faced one on the group’s upcoming list of invites. But it may also have been a lightning rod in the wake of the Me Too movement and Time’s Up initiative. It already was last year, in the thick of Oscar season, when more than 17,000 individuals signed a petition demanding that Bryant be stripped of his “Dear Basketball” Oscar nomination on the grounds of his 2003 sexual assault case. (That case was dropped after Bryant’s accuser refused to testify, and he later settled a civil suit out of court.)

Bryant and Keane ultimately won the prize. Columnists called the occasion everything from a “controversy” to a “tragedy.”

The Academy did not respond to a request for comment. The organization’s Board of Governors has final approval of the invitations and could theoretically overrule the committee’s decision at its scheduled monthly meeting on Saturday, but that is highly unlikely at this stage. The final list will be unveiled on Monday.

News of Bryant’s rescinded Academy invitation was first reported by Cartoon Brew.

On the bright side, his atrocious carbon footprint has now ceased.

They should do his funeral with a 21-helicopter salute. It's what Kobe would have wanted.

R352 and r353, And among, say, Doris Day, Albert Finney, and Kobe Bryant, who would you suppose brought in more money to the city of Los Angeles? Who do you imagine helped real (human, not dogs) members of the local community?

Your point, r365? His legal trouble isn't a scoop.

r368 so you're saying that Academy awards can be bought if you have enough money?

Tamera Mowry remembers Kobe Bryant

I believe the last posthumous tribute at an Academy Awards ceremony was in 1993 when Audrey Hepburn was awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, accepted by her son Sean Ferrer.

Good Lord, Tamera Mowry got fat.

I thought Shaq and he didn't get along? Shaq had a teary interview about him.

If the complainant in Bryant's rape case signed a non-disclosure agreement as part of the out of court settlement, does Bryant's death render the non-disclosure part null and void?

R215 Oh, Dear. She got into Duke without even knowing proper English! God help us.

r374 they did not for some time but Shaq said they reconciled and became friends in recent years.

r373 Tamera looks like most 41 year olds with two kids

R377 she's an actress, they aren't most 41 year olds.

for the same reasons old, sad, white queens hold onto hope that Alfred e newman has any chance of winning the nomination. People hold onto people they see themselves in or admire. They looked up to him. Was he perfect? No. No one is.

R379 seems to have crawled over here from Lipstick Alley.

Because it reminds them of John-John's death. And of course, those two women who were with him.

R39

Yeah! That dang feminazi!

It's like them wimmins think they're people. LOLZ. Tryin' ta think that they can complain 'bout rape. Sheeeittttt.

Wuz next? They tryin' ta get the guv'mint to pay fer tampons!!!? hur hur hur. LMBO.

Not in my murica! Dangit.

R382. You are a racist piece of shit for mocking black people. You know better fag.

R382 LMBO? Oh, laughing my black off. Never mind.

Doing for the community and being a draw for ticket-buyers isn't remotely related to your suggestion, r370. I was responding to one other's remarks about Kobe's getting more In Memoriam time than the poster's Doris Day and Albert Finney, and a second poster's suggestion that the tribute was because of race and sport, and not the film or Kobe's more substantial local presence than the aforementioned movie stars.

But whatever.

r383 I'm not sure how using the "f" word is any better. Go back to Lipstick Alley.

R386. Good you are bothered. Now you will stop making racist shitty jokes.

Tamera Mowry has a white husband

R293, I ❤️ u.

No hate or shade from me, doll face.

Preach. 👊🏼

R293, I ❤️ u.

No hate or shade from me, doll face.

Preach. 👊🏼

R293, I ❤️ u.

No hate or shade from me, doll face.

Preach. 👊🏼

R293, I ❤️ u.

No hate or shade from me, doll face.

Preach. 👊🏼

R293, I ❤️ u.

No hate or shade from me, doll face.

Preach. 👊🏼

R293, I ❤️ u.

No hate or shade from me, doll face.

Preach. 👊🏼

R293:

😘

r390 r391 r392 r393 r394 r395 we heard you the first time

Any news about the funeral?

You're not invited.

r398 thanks, I bet r397 assumed he would be until your witty remark! You surely put him in his place.

r390 People who use skin-tone emojis are racist.

Maybe someone said this earlier, but I think some of the extra love and attention Kobe is getting, is because it's not a political story. Just my opinion, but it's one of the few stories getting media coverage that doesn't have to do with impeachment, Donald Trump, elections, debates, Donald Trump, Greta, Donald Trump or the JOKER.

I'm sorry Kobe and his daughter were killed, I'm not a superfan though. But I think this news story weirdly seems to generally unite people in their sadness / grief. There's no enemy and no sides.

R400, very astute, I agree.

True

Twitter is loving this Jason Whitlock Roasting

Yeah dude, the heartbroken widow. How dare she make you cry?

r400 is absolutely correct. We are in the era where money, power and prestige seem to make people invincible, but Kobe has reminded everyone whats really important.

Vanessa is at a huge crossroads in her life. She hasn't known another life other than Kobe Bryant being her husband. Very challenging time she has ahead. I would definitely take the money and move to another city once the oldest daughter goes to college. I couldn't live in the same home with all the memories.

[quote] Kobe knew he needed a 🚁 if he was going after Wilt Chamberlain’s record.

Bryant retired in 2016, R340. He wasn’t going for anyone’s record anymore.

[quote] His spread may have comprised hundreds of far flung fields that he had to seed & plow over hundreds of miles. You’re not playing in the big leagues if you’re grounded even in a limo. The Major Players all have their air game going.

He wasn’t “playing in the big leagues” anymore (at least in terms of the NBA). He was retired.

Or is this tongue-in-cheek (“his spread”, “seed & plow”)?

[quote] We are in the era where money, power and prestige seem to make people invincible, but Kobe has reminded everyone whats really important.

Indeed. An important reminder for everybody not to take your $13-million Sikorsky chopper up in heavy-duty fog.

[quote] Vanessa is at a huge crossroads in her life. She hasn't known another life other than Kobe Bryant being her husband.

She already filed and tried to divorce him in 2011-2012 citing “irreconcilable differences”. In terms of her husband at least, she's already been at a crossroads before.

[quote] But I think this news story weirdly seems to generally unite people in their sadness / grief. There's no enemy and no sides.

The avoidable result of the recklessness of an almost-billionaire united a nation in "grief".

Ah, America - never change.

Vanessa has suddenly become the wealthiest, most eligible, single female in the Los Angeles area.

Bring on the gigolos . . .

R387 you seem to be thinking I'm the same person you were responding to earlier. I'm not, and that doesn't make you any better for using the "f" word on a gay forum. You aren't being provocative, you are just reinforcing the sterotypes that you seem to be trying to challenge.

R405 I hope you are joking because otherwise 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄

R410. That is rich coming from you, maybe you should direct your comment to those idiots that call women cunts and black people niggers on this site. I really do not care that you are hurt by the word faggot. If some posters can freely use derogatory words towards women and minorities then some posters can use the fag word.

[quote] Like I told a colleague, who grew up in Boston - a big Patriots fan - imagine if Tom Brady died today in a plane crash. He got it .

New England fans would obviously be 'inconsolable' and breathing into portable oxygen tanks for life support, R361. But interestingly Brady said: “Most Americans . . . they don’t like me, and I can understand that”.

Off-topic, but from what people say about their relationship, Bündchen wears the pants and Brady mostly obeys like a lapdog. He’s not the brightest bulb (a skilled quarterback, but a bit of a laid-back, easily-led simpleton in casual life) - so she’s reportedly at the wheel.

Bündchen doesn’t even let their kids eat “candy” (she said: “We don’t really have a lot of sugar in our house. I let them try ONE [candy], but they really only had ONE BITE and then they didn’t want it anymore”).

So she’s quite a control-freak who micro-manages a lot of things about their life. The control aspect is amplified by reports that she’s worth twice more than Brady (he even said he takes paycuts because his wife brings in so much dough).

Unlike Bryant (who had a rather ‘alpha’-type character), Brady seems content to often take the back-seat and follow his wife’s decisions. So, being a control-freak and overbearing helicopter-mom (forgive the pun), I doubt Bündchen would ever permit Tom to take their kids up in their chopper in heavy fog. I doubt moreover that she’d ever let him do other chopper “tricks” with switching off an engine in midair. She’d probably flip out and spank Tom with a diamond-encrusted paddle.

R412 like I said, you just make yourself look worse when you do the very thing you are ostensibly protesting against.

Your reasoning is faulty and should be rethought.

R412, are you new here? Misogyny is part of the DataLounge Experience, as it were. It's not pretty but there's no stopping it at this point. If it gets really egregious Flames & Freaks is just a click away. You can also block posters if you feel so inclined.

Thing is, though, DL is a site for and by gay people. If you're going to sling the word 'fag' around like a drunk redneck you're eventually going to get the banhammer-- just like I would if I spewed racist slurs on LSA.

People are over involved now in "media events" that really don't concern them.

Colbert - who is SUCH a fucking name-dropper - did a very unctuous tribute to Bryant and family saying he felt comraderie because his father died in a plane crash - about 40 years ago at least! I mean really, it just seemed tacky, to me.

John McCain's entirely normal and age appropriate death, and expected death after a long illness - oh brother was that overwrought or what!!!??? Blown way out of proportion. By many many people who were not involved or connected at all.

People are over involved now in "media events" that really don't concern them.

Colbert - who is SUCH a fucking name-dropper - did a very unctuous tribute to Bryant and family saying he felt comraderie because his father died in a plane crash - about 40 years ago at least! I mean really, it just seemed tacky, to me.

John McCain's entirely normal and age appropriate death, and expected death after a long illness - oh brother was that overwrought or what!!!??? Blown way out of proportion. By many many people who were not involved or connected at all.

He took helicopters because he was above using regular traffic. I can't really get worked up over someone like that dying in a crash.

We really shouldn't be idolising sportspeople. Scientists contribute way more to humanity.

A lot of the excessiveness of the grief has to do with the fact that the majority of his fanbase is black. But it also has to do with the unhealthy, almost deifying relationship America has with sports stars.

[quote] I totally disagree about the likelihood of there being a Kim K. sex tape minus a connection to a FAMOUS ATHLETE---only in her case, it needn't have been my example of Bruce Jenner, for Kim's notoriety actually succeeded her father's, one of the lawyers for and close friend of OJ SIMPSON.

Kim Kardashian did not become famous because of her dad or step-dad or any "athletes", R345. Bruce Jenner was already becoming OBSCURE as an athlete when Kim hit the scene in the 2000s: he was a white “decathlete”, the young general population in the 2000s didn’t give a heck about white “decathletes”, and he peaked in the long-ago 70s and was losing fame & relevance ever since (until his very recent castration circus).

And OJ Simpson had little bearing on Kim. She first got on people's radar for being a relatively striking-looking (beautifully "exotic"), big-boobed girl-friend of PARIS HILTON (one of the FIRST and BIGGEST Reality-TV stars in the world) and then became famous/notorious in her own right as many people’s fap-fantasy thanks to her raunchy sex-tape. Paris had a sex-tape released in 2004, and Kim followed suit in 2007. It was Paris Hilton who made Kim famous - not OJ.

Here in LA it seems all types of people are unusually moved by this one. When it comes up in conversation, people express genuine sadness. It is uniting, in a way. I think part of it is how it happened right here. A very LA life and death.

Oh, and the next thing Angelenos say after “Oh, Kobe - isn’t it just terrible” is “did you SEE the fog that morning? It was unbelievable!”

R414 and r415. If people on here can say nigger and cunt with immunity then straight people that visit this site can say Faggot with immunity.

Grief porn is just a way for the great unwashed to deal with their boring and meaningless modern lives.

[quote] If people on here can say n***er and cunt with immunity then straight people that visit this site can say F*ggot with immunity.

Wrong, R422. Posts with the former word often get F&Fed and crossed-out by Muriel. Posts with the second do not - but that's because the word "cunt" has become disassociated from its original meaning and is used against guys as well. Just like the word "dick".

You can tell a female not be a "dick" and you can tell a male not to be a "cunt". "Dick" and "cunt" are used against both sexes regardless of the person's genitals.

Similarly, you can tell a person not to be a "bastard". A bastard (in the original sense) is an illegitimate kid out of wedlock. Now it's become more disassociated from its original meaning.

R422 you seem to be projecting an awful lot on a handful of racist posters. And yes they eventually get banned. Same for people who throw around the f-word. So keep it up if you want, you'll be red tagged and we won't have to see your thoughts any longer.

R422 You're on a gay site, honey. Other than the invasion of people on this site who are homophobes like yourself, nobody is going to rush to defend your right to fling homophobic insults at us. Go home.

[quote] As for your "worship" rebuttal: a few freaks about Diana do not a Zeitgeist make.

It was over-the-top “worship” and very “zeitgeisty”, similar to Bryant, R345. There were scenes of people dragging their small, kindergarten-aged kids to Kensington Palace gates and weeping. The small kids (ca. 4 probably) were too young to even understand what the adults were wailing about - but wept too, because seeing everyone freak out made them cry too. Herd instinct. It’s like people dragging their kids to Church and going into hysterics over Christ on the Cross = Worship.

But for the gay scene (and other people in hospital) it at least made some sense - because Britain was still experiencing the deadly AIDS epidemic (public health crisis) and Diana (despite being a bit of a nutjob and reportedly fucking up other people’s marriages herself) at least didn’t shy away from trying to demonstrate that HIV was not contagious through touch.

I didn’t shed any tears when she kicked the proverbial bucket, but I do give her credit for being of some help during the public health crisis.

I really don't give two fucks what a bunch overtly sensitive sexist and racist queens think. Most of you do not have a right to call minorities and women fish or cunts and not expect the verbal shots in return. R424. You tried that bullshit trying to defend assholes who call women all kinds of derogatory names and by the way racist comments do not get banned. If you can dish it bitch get ready to take it. Look at it as real life where you get your ass handed to you for saying shit.

I really don't give two fucks what a bunch overtly sensitive sexist and racist queens think. Most of you do not have a right to call minorities and women fish or cunts and not expect the verbal shots in return. R424. You tried that bullshit trying to defend assholes who call women all kinds of derogatory names and by the way racist comments do not get banned. If you can dish it bitch get ready to take it. Look at it as real life where you get your ass handed to you for saying shit.

The recent death that saddened me was Glenn Frey, I grew up on his music and saw The Eagles in concert a few times. But I never shed a tear and went on with life. I don't get all this weeping and gnashing of teeth for a stranger.

[quote] Most of you do not have a right to call minorities and women fish or cunts and not expect the verbal shots in return ... You tried that bullshit trying to defend assholes who call women all kinds of derogatory names

Ok, R429, I've noted your feelings and will try to improve my vocabulary.

If you're a male, I'll call you a cunt-rag.

If you are a female, I'll call you a dick-wad.

Feel better?

Just as with Al Franken, the SJWs once again go after the low hanging fruit, this time a black dead man and his child.

Meanwhile, the sexual predator in the White House and his henchmen go on their merry ways, and Prince Andrew runs to mommy and hides behind her flowing royal robes. Then, both of these assclowns BFF, Jeffrey Epstein, dies under questionable circumstances and anyone who suggests his death is highly unusual is called a crack pot.

Keep it the good work and keep fighting the good fight, SJW's. As long as it doesn't require too much effort or step on too many powerful toes, right?

[quote]If people on here can say nigger and cunt with immunity then straight people that visit this site can say Faggot with immunity.

😅 I think the word you were looking for was 'impunity', not 'immunity'.

And I'm loving how R1 is crossed out now. I guess Black Twitter has officially invaded Datalounge, as was threatened in a Mayor Pete thread not long ago.

[quote] Just as with Al Franken, the SJWs once again go after the low hanging fruit, this time a black dead man and his child.

Comparing a public servant to a powerful multimillionaire with access to some of the best lawyers that money can buy is ridiculous. Trump is actually a better comparison to Kobe. Both of them have been protected from sexual allegations because of their power, money and cult status.

[quote] Just as with Al Franken, the SJWs once again go after the low hanging fruit, this time a black dead man and his child.

The kid wouldn’t be dead if the parent in charge of her safety weren’t so reckless as to take her up in a private chopper in conditions so dangerous that even LAPD choppers were grounded.

Bryant was a half-Billionaire (placing him in the top % in the world), with the NBA and Nike (one of the most powerful organisations in the US, and one of the most powerful companies in the world, respectively) invested in covering his back. That's hardly “low-hanging fruit”.

The fact that the Colorado court leaked so many confidential documents so many times to the press & public (which led to the accuser being harassed and Bryant’s image being protected) was hardly a coincidence.

[quote]Vanessa is at a huge crossroads in her life. She hasn't known another life other than Kobe Bryant being her husband. Very challenging time she has ahead. I would definitely take the money and move to another city once the oldest daughter goes to college. I couldn't live in the same home with all the memories.

Vanessa was born in Orange County, raised there, married there, and lived there her entire time with Kobe. Her family all live there; she's isn't going anywhere else.

One of the reasons Kobe took his helicopter everywhere as if it was a limo was due to his and Vanessa's insistence on living in Newport Beach, which is a bit out of the way.

[quote]Unlike Bryant (who had a rather ‘alpha’-type character), Brady seems content to often take the back-seat and follow his wife’s decisions. So, being a control-freak and overbearing helicopter-mom (forgive the pun), I doubt Bündchen would ever permit Tom to take their kids up in their chopper in heavy fog. I doubt moreover that she’d ever let him do other chopper “tricks” with switching off an engine in midair. She’d probably flip out and spank Tom with a diamond-encrusted paddle.

I wouldn't be so quick to say that Bryant was the purely dominant one in his marriage. Vanessa is cute and sweet-looking, but has always seemed rather steely: she survived the rape scandal early in the marriage, and also put Kobe in his place several years ago with her divorce filing when she allegedly caught him out again, but took it back and put things back together. She's raised four kids in the limelight. There were recent rumors she was tough on their help, some difficulties there. I wouldn't say she was in the back seat there.

I also don't think that Bunchden has as much control as said, over Brady. Yes he comes across as a bit milquetoast-y, but I think he and his career take up a lot of space with them, and he drives that bus and those decisions mostly.

Well, sure, calm waters run deep, who knows, R437.

[quote] she survived the rape scandal early in the marriage, and also put Kobe in his place several years ago with her divorce filing when she allegedly caught him out again, but took it back and put things back together ... There were recent rumors she was tough on their help

I wouldn’t say Vanessa “survived” it - she just kept forgiving and sticking by him, regardless of anything he did. During the sexual assault case in his 20s (and despite at least the indisputable revelation that he was fucking at least 2 others at the same time), she held hands with him in public in a show of automatic support. And then when he still continued sowing his wild oats in his mid-30s (apparently even the criminal scandal didn't scare him) - she filed for divorce but retracted it anyway.

Vanessa being hard on her house-help is a bit easy, as they're under her in the hierarchy anyway. Husbands traditionally expect wives to handle the maids, they don't want to be bothered with such 'trivialities'. It's not like she was brazenly cursing her husband's teammates and telling them how to run the ball, like Bündchen, lol.

There seems to be a power-imbalance in the Bryant family: the lucrative lifestyle they have is thanks to Kobe. (Yes, she could have divorced him and taken ca. half - but the source of the money would still be Kobe). Whereas in the Brady-Bündchen family, Bündchen is the one who is more famous internationally and wealthier than Brady. She brings home more bacon than he does and didn’t even take his last name, because her brand-name is more profitable.

It’s interesting that both of Bryant’s oldest kids played sports like him (trying to emulate him, not their mother).

Whereas Brady’s SON with Bündchen told his dad he doesn’t give a heck about sports and doesn’t want to emulate him. Brady apparently flipped out but Bündchen over-ruled him:

[quote] “When Benjamin was born, Brady figured he'd also have a knack for sports. “I was like, ‘C’mon, let’s do this,’" Brady recalled. "And he was like, ‘Nope.’ And I was like, ‘What? No, do this!’”. It was Bündchen who finally knocked some sense into him. "Gisele kept saying to me, ‘Would you EFFING understand that your son is different?’ It was hard for me," he said. "I was like, ‘What do you mean? He’s a boy; he should just do all these things that I do.' … In [Giselle’s] mind, there are no boundaries," Brady said. "‘Why can’t you do that? Why do you have to go to school? Why can’t you just leave and live in a different country?’ In her reality, you can. Coming from mine, it was very different. This is what you do: You go to elementary school, go to high school, go to college. In her mind, why do you have to do ANY of those things?”. He continued: "And you know what, she’s right. I’m the one that HAD to go, ‘You’re right!’”.

Is Brady and Bundchen's son 'dialling the phone with a pencil'? Speaking of which, other celebrity offspring who might? I know DL believes Prince George, but when I first started posting on DL, there was a thread about the son of the creator of Mad Men. How did he turn out?

All these pearl-clutching, pro-creative love making monogamists slut-shaming Kobe's "adulterous" behavior.

R440, all those worshipping fans eulogising him as a 'devout Catholic and role-model family-man'.

DL has no problem with sluts - but sluts slutting away & choking teenagers, fucking a harem of mistresses, and then hiding under the so-called 'respectable' veneer of Catholicism is just ironic.

Reportedly, Bryant brought a wooden CROSS with him to his sexual assault hearing.

Oh, wait... actually maybe all this makes him a quintessential "Catholic".

Giselle is worth more than Tom Brady? That’s crazy.

R441. Fall back hater. You mad because no one will care about your bitter ugly ass. No one will shed a tear since a bitter queen is hardly likeable.

He didn't pay my bills or do anything to make my life better, so besides the initial surprise, I really don't care anymore.

[quote] Fall back hater. You mad ... bitter queen

R443 = triggered Taylor Swift + KB fangurl. And Catholic Church Cult sympathiser.

R445. Just someone with a soul since you have none.

R446, according to Catholic Catechism gays are "sodomites" and "homosexual acts go against natural law".

You should worry less about "souls" and more about the brain-cells of a person who worships an ancient Cult (which persecuted and looks down on gays and systematically tries to cover up child-molestation scandals).

Anecdotes

The people who think Vanessa is going to live like a monk for the rest of her life are nuts. Yes, it will be tough because because even more than losing her husband, she lost her daughter. That said, she is a 37 yr old millionairess, she is not going to live the rest of her life alone. It'll be interesting because the script will most likely be flipped and she will have the money and power in the relationship. She will probably sell the house in the next couple of years and start fresh. She'll eventually remarry and maybe have more kids. Not sure what her type is because she was with Kobe since she was 17. My guess is she'll get with a wealthy, age appropriate black executive and not go the boy toy route.

R447. Have a seat somewhere. At least you admit you have no soul and you are just an empty miserable person.

Vanessa better be very careful about who she lets into her life.

r450 we all know why you're defending Kobe, you can fuck right off back to Lipstick Alley with that.

No worries. Soon Khloe Kardashion will befriend Vanessa and help fix her up with quality men.

You know they are going to have all kinds of tributes during Super Bowl. Enough.

How long does it take to ID the recovered bodies?

R452. What is a lipstick alley?

It's because many "fans" throw their personal ethics out the window when it comes to the objects of their fanaticism. Michael Jackson, Donald Trump, Kobe Bryant, and many others attract a base of fans who really couldn't care less what they do (or did for those who are dead) in their private lives. They know these people are sleazeballs and/or criminals, but they can lie themselves into believing anything they want. John Gotti, one of the most heinous Mafia criminals and murderers ever had loads of adoring fans, all because he did some nice things for a few people in his neighborhood.

Nobody’s perfect!!

Now the half time show is going to be a dedication to Kobe. Enough.

R459. Enough because it isn't about you or your favorite celeb. No one cares how you feel.

Why in the FUCK does the NFL have to pay tribute to a basketball player??? This Kobe shit is getting carried away.

R461. Hater you mad. Good stay mad.

R461, why are you like that? Watch yourself bruh

R461 How dare you be sayin' shit 'bout our Kobe! Whos you think you is cracker? Kobe ain't for white folk, he only for us. He our king! He our jesus! And ain't none of y'all cracker ass haters gonna hate on our black king! Youse a racist!

Kobe was a rapist who was likely grooming or doing his daughter.

[quote]Others feel obligated to act like they're deeply impacted

What does being constipated have to do with it?

[quote]Others feel obligated to act like they're deeply impacted

What does being constipated have to do with it?

R456. And you know that for a fact. Have a seat somewhere fag. We know you were molested and projecting your traumatic childhood unto him. Protesting too much.

R456. And you know that for a fact. Have a seat somewhere fag. We know you were molested and projecting your traumatic childhood unto him. Protesting too much.

R469 Said it bestest, y'all! Youse so ignorant to be goin after an innocent poor boy like Kobe. He ain't ever harmed nobody! This is racism!

R470. Fucking asshole fag mocking black people. Shouldn't you be sucking dick somewhere.

R471 I's sucking dick as we speak, homie! Schlurp, schlurp! Now dap me up, G!

If Kobe's attorneys from the Colorado incident were successful in making the victim's name public, I'm wondering if she's being bothered by media and fans since the crash.

She should come out with a public statement - something cryptic that everyone will assume is a slam against Kobe. Then, she can write a book and go on talk shows about all the hate she gets from freaks like the one calling everyone a f-g (on a gay board, no less) in this thread.

r456 nice attempt but you've tried that before in another thread. So predictable and tired. And, apparently, homophobic and racist.

R406, Sex, not basketball, is the point. Wilt Chamberlain claimed over 20,000 conquests.

I love Boyz 2 Men and Alicia Keys. What a tribute

Alicia Keys is the extra one. Could she be any more of a cringey host? WTH was she even talking about the entire show?

How many major sportsball celebrities cried publicly?

What kind of social reject says sportsball?

r479 you must be straight.

Let's make the Superbowl about Kobe, a basketball player!

Kurt Bardella @kurtbardella · Wouldn’t it be something if the #Chiefs won the #SuperBowl with the point total of 24 ... #Kobe

This mural in the Philippines is bigger than basketball.

@JordanClarksons tells the story behind the court, located in in one of the poorest areas of Manila.

I saw in guy in LA who had a picture of himself in front of a Kobe and Gianna mural as his main grindr photo. Like...dude... WTF

Hahaha, r483

Hey OP, was there a reasonable response to your inquiry?

In my opinion, people are being extra because his passing is a diversion from endless talk about politics, the coronavirus and Prince Harry / Meghan.

People can agree about mourning a popular athlete and his daughter, people can't agree on politics.

Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant are at peace.

The NBA legend and his 13-year-old daughter have been laid to rest, E! News can confirm. The private Los Angeles funeral comes just two weeks after the pair—along with passengers Christina Mauser, John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli, Sarah Chester, Payton Chester and pilot Ara Zobayan—tragically passed away in a helicopter crash. At the time of the incident, the group were headed for a basketball tournament at Kobe's Mamba Sport Academy.

Though the ceremony was held privately, a public memorial will be held on February 24 at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, giving fans an opportunity to pay their respects. "We are one city that believes in each other, believes in something bigger than ourselves," Mayor Eric Garcetti has said. "We will absolutely do everything to make sure that this is done so that everybody can come to it as well."

At least they didn't have to pay extra for cremation!

Love this scene from “Annie Hall.”

R10 he had a name. It was Chris "Discoball" Burrous

I feel sorry for his gook wife and half-breed daughter.

Jennifer Hudson sang her heart out in a tribute to Kobe and Gigi 🙏

Thank god! I was wondering what Jennifer Hudson would do to tribute the Lord Kobe.

1. Rich from basketball, every African American kid's dream career plan.

2. Not ugly.

3. Cool.

4. Loved his kids.

5. Did things for the community.

6. Was a gentleman to apologize and explain he truly thought it was consensual when a sex partner complained that he had ripped her anus and rectum up so badly she needed medical attention from the tearing and bleeding and that she had begged and cried for him to stop and he didn't.

7. From #6, people inferred he was a victim of overreactive and profiling-reflexive police.

7. From #6, people inferred that his penis was a "mother fucking weapon of massive pussy destruction," always a characteristic of admiration in the public's eyes.

R492. Racist much. It is not very black kids dream to become a basketball player. Asshole.

r493 is right. They also want to be rappers.

R494. Nope racist. They also will love to be an astronaut, scientists, doctors, President and so on. Assholes like you only have narrow stereotypical views of black people.

2 show dey aint racist?

It's a joke, r495. As long as they're not shooting innocent people up, I don't care what they do.

R497. You are a racist coward who can't own up to the fact that you have stereotypical view of black people. Instead you act like a bitch and state you were joking.

Because he had a friendly face, a friendly smile. People confuse it for real affection towards them. They developed friend-feelings. People are dumb and ultimately love-starved.

r498 you seem rather involved in r497's comments.

R320 - You gave me some laughs. Just the right amount of bitchiness without actually being needlessly cruel. I take it in the spirit in which it's given.

Wait for the big spectacle on 2/24! Madame Bryant has been posting a lot of love declarations, lately.

The Daily Mail published photos of Kobe's and Gigi's grave, only it's someone else's grave.

Sports kills kids, be careful out there!

Beyoncé is performing now

CNN is showing this. Zzzzzzzz.....

Kobe is/was the most famous Angelino I think of all time. We don't have a history of great mayors or Senators and the famous actors aren't really "ours". I know most on here aren't sports fan. But the I grew up here and still live here. It's been oddly devastating.

But I get it's lost on the DL. It's like Broadway threads. I don't get it at all. But that's cool. We all have different likes.

Did we really need to know from Vanessa Bryant that Kobe never left the toilet seat up?

Thank the Lord, Alicia Keys didn't sing one of her songs.

Michael Jordan overdid the "aggravating" usage. And can't a billionaire carry a handkerchief?

Jimmy Kimmel really overplayed the role of grieving host.

Beautiful service

R511, 7/10

R510 Heaven knows I grieve that he is a host all the time.