Former New York Yankees shortstop and soon-to-be Hall of Famer Derek Jeter honored longtime friend Kobe Bryant with a tribute on the website that he founded: The Players' Tribune. The Los Angeles Lakers legend died in a helicopter accident on Sunday along with his daughter Gianna and seven other passengers in a crash in Calabasas.
Jeter had met Bryant during numerous sports award galas and offseason activities, charity events, and many other situations, yet the longtime baseball star always recalled Bryant for his genuine approach to family life.
Excerpt from”Kobe” by Derek Jeter, Founder of The Players' Tribune:
“I end up thinking about how, here was this guy who was beyond gifted as an athlete, who was obsessed with being a champion, who was known as an absolute assassin with a ball in his hands. And in the moments I got to spend with him? He didn’t really talk about any of that. He cared much more about being a husband to Vanessa and a dad to his girls. He loved his family — he was his family. That’s what was important.
“And that’s the Kobe I’ll remember.”
Jeter could have focused on one of the many conversations Bryant had about competitive edge and all-around greatness, but he chose to portray the side of a caring family man who related to Jeter as a fellow father trying to bring up his kids.
Many have told tales of encounters with Kobe Bryant on the court, but it was interactions like the ones he had with Jeter that say a lot about him as a human being and a caring family man. The Lakers legend will truly be missed.
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