February 16, 2021 • 31 mins
A city says goodbye to one of its beloved icons. Friends, family, and associates of Kobe Bryant gather at the ‘House that Kobe Built’. We hear from those who were invited to attend, including a person who recounts the emotions felt backstage. A sports journalist analyzes the missteps of the media’s coverage of the crash.
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Officials with the Los Angeles County Corner. We're working to
release the names of all nine people aboard the helicopter
that crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, and the NTSBS
go team has been on scene for a few days.
During that time, media outlets were any feeding frenzy for
information about who was on board and why the helicopter crash.
I really could not believe my eyes at some of
(00:27):
the things that I was seeing, um some of the
recklessness from some reporters. I'm Steve Gregory in Los Angeles,
and this is the death and life of Kobe Bryant.
Sports journalist Larry Brown remembers getting a text alert on
the morning of the crash. I've been doing this long
enough where I have a detector as to whether or
(00:49):
not I believe stories, whether or not I need to
investigate more, whether they could be true or not. And
everything about this one signaled to me, Oh, my goodness,
this is real. Brown owns and operates the website Larry
Brown sports dot com and says he went into reporter
mode immediately following an alert from TMZ Sports. I knew
right away that this story was massive, with gigantic implications
(01:13):
and was going to be huge. And from that point on,
I was locked in on the computer for several hours straight, UM,
just trying to type away different stories, adding updates, organizing
when big stories like this happened. UM. I want to
be have the most thorough, complete and accurate coverage possible,
(01:34):
and I want people knowing that they could come to
my website for reliable content. UM. And I was just
locked in and I probably didn't come up for air
for the next seven hours or so. Brown says. He
remembers the overwhelming amount of information and knew this was
a lot to process. You remember, at first it from
the first thing was to confirm did this actually happen?
(01:57):
Did Kobe Bryant really die in this helicopter crash? Then
it was how did it happen, who was aboard? How
many died? And for a few hours it was just
about getting those actual raw details and facts about the story.
And so I saw so much of this information being
shared I and I remember going through every step of
(02:19):
this process as some of this stuff was unsure, and
just seeing the way some of it unfolded and the
way some outlets reported things. UM was very concerning I
really could not believe my eyes at some of the
things that I was seeing. Um, some of the recklessness
from some reporters, not understanding the ramifications of what they
(02:42):
were doing when they throughout information that turned out to
be incorrect. So I know I wrote it. I felt
at the time that it was an important part of
the story to share, was how bad some of the
media coverage was, and kind of just to put it
out there as a reminder like this story is too big,
as too much gravity to get some of these important
(03:04):
things wrong. But then Brown says he noticed more and
more sloppy reporting by media outlets. There were several passengers aboard,
and there are people involved here who would like to
know whether or not their loved one has actually died,
and you can't be giving them bad information. That's uh,
You're toying with a lot of people's emotions. It's inappropriate. Um.
(03:28):
And so I remember just just going through that and
just thinking I needed to write about it. Hours after
the crash, Brown would write about the sloppy reporting, the
bad TV live shots, and the blatantly wrong information being
broadcast around the world, even the Los Angeles County Sheriff's
department posted a poorly written tweet that read five people
confirmed deceased, no survivors in Calabasa's helicopter crash. All the
(03:51):
l A County Sheriff's Department had to do with, say
at least five confirm debt or we know that there
have been five people come from dead so far um,
at least some way of of saying it so that
we knew that it was not only five but we
know of five so far UM. Because it seemed more
(04:13):
definitive the way they presented it as if that was it,
um and and that was problematic. So I think the
language that they used, they should have been much more careful. UM.
With the way they did it. I thought, you know,
there was a reporter Um. It was really bad. ABC
S Matt Gutman, Um was on air. And I understand
(04:37):
when you're live on air that you don't have a
script in front of you, that you're talking off the
top of your head, and it leaves open the possibility
for for airs. But that's where you have to be
more vigilant and be on top of things. You cannot
possibly go on air and say something to the entire
(04:57):
country of the nature of I have heard or there
there is talk that all four of Kobe's children were
on board. That's not something you can say on that
kind of a platform so casually without having that confirmed. Um,
I thought that was really really poor reporting, poor judgment,
(05:22):
um and And that's the kind of catastrophic error to me,
that's that's you know, I couldn't have someone working for
me if they would make an air that big. It
shows such poor judgment in in the most important times
when you can't prepare. Um, that was really bad. One
of the earliest rumors was that former Lakers teammate and
friend of Bryant Rick Fox was among those who died
(05:44):
in the crash. The Rick Fox example, that to me
is the quint essential. So that the Rick Fox thing,
that's not a professional doing something wrong, like a professional
reporter on TV who is ad living. Uh, they're showing
poor judgment and poor skill by just blabbing something out
(06:05):
there of that nature that's incorrect. That's that's poor professionalism.
Um And in my opinion, if I were running a station,
that's grounds for firing. The Rick Fox is an example
of amateurs doing something wrong. That's social media taking over
and doing wrong, because that one completely originated on social media,
(06:27):
with someone just throwing something out there on Twitter and
then it just snowballs from there. People don't people who
don't have any consequences to their actions, Like for me,
if I write something, there are consequences for me. If
I publish the story, I could be sued. Um. If
you go on air and say something, if you're a reporter,
you can be suspended, fired, you could be found liabel,
(06:49):
there are consequences. For any random person on Twitter, there
are no consequences, So they could just see a story
and just retweet it and the retweets spread so much
faster than the corrections. Um. And that's what happened with
Rick Fox. That was just a classic example of social
media running rampant with a rumor. It had no basis
(07:09):
in reality. Um. The origins of that do not trace
back to any venerable reporter. No media outlet reported it.
It was just a pure social media rumor that just
spread to the point. I remember getting a text a
message from my uncle saying, hey, I you know, I
heard Rick Fox may have died too. I was like, Oh,
that's just total crap. Um. I couldn't believe how it spread,
(07:32):
But it just shows that people don't verify before tweeting
because they don't have consequences, and then just false information
can completely go viral as a result. One of the
more controversial stories that came out that day was from
Washington Post political reporter Felicia Sanmez. San mess first tweet
about the crash was simply a link to a Daily
(07:52):
Beast article on the felony sexual assault case against Bryant.
Brown retweeted it with the comment san man Is decided
now would be a good time to bring up Kobe
Bryant's rape case, and it ended up setting the record
for biggest ratio and Twitter history, and then she doubled
and tripled down, lecturing others for responding negatively. Well, I
(08:13):
think it is important to include it as part of
Bryant's story, and it is um but the way I
view it is one of the core tenants of journalism
is fairness. And if someone just died in a helicopter crash,
who was beloved, who who meant so much to a
(08:35):
city and and to the world, and who accomplished so much,
I think it's really important to be fair and to
view everything altogether, and what part of the entire picture
of what Kobe Bryant did for the world and why
he was remembered. What portion of it is is that
(08:55):
case in Colorado, and what portion of it is the
positive impact act he had on people's lives, on the sport,
on fans. And I think it's importantly important to try
and and rank it all and put it into a context. Um.
And for me, if you are leading with that as
(09:18):
the first thing when you talk about Kobe, I don't
think that's being fair to his entire legacy as a
human being. UM. If you bury it as the very
last thing you say, or you omit it entirely, that's
not being fair either. I think it's important to put
it in its proper context. And to me, when I
evaluate the whole thing, when I look at Kobe Bryant
(09:40):
and what he did, UM, I think if you are
looking at Kobe's life as of whatever it was two
thousand three or two thousand four, UM, I think it
was a big part of his story at that point.
I think a lot of his story was he was,
you know, born to a former pro basketball player, he
grew up and Italy, he was drafted straight out of
(10:02):
high school. He was a young player picked by uh
wound up going to the Lakers. He came off the bench,
he won a few championships, and he's got this big case,
But there was so much time that happened after that,
and so many more things that he accomplished, and so
many good things that he started to do. He became
a family man. He had all these children. He was
(10:23):
being a positive role model for them. He had gone
into filmmaking, um, he had his MoMA mentality that he
was trying to influence other basketball players. He was trying
to bring a lot more attention to women's sports and
empower females in athletics. And there were so many more
(10:43):
things that he had done and so many more accomplishments
he had made that it starts to push that down
further and there's just so much more to his story,
And so I think it ranks in there, but I
don't think it's at the top, and I don't think
it should be omitted. But it does have its place,
and the question is where are you placing it? And
(11:03):
I think you've got to talk about all the positive
things that he all the positive impact he had on
the world, um first and foremost, while then also including
and saying that that is part of his legacy as well,
and also, um, you know, quite frankly being truthful about
this situation that Kobe always maintained that he was innocent
(11:28):
and that any encounter was consensual. Um. And I think
it's important to include that information too. So it's just
a matter of how you you know, I think if
you omit it, you're doing it wrong. And I think
if you make that the soul focus, UM, I think
you're doing it wrong as well. And that those were
my problems where the people who said you should omit
(11:49):
it and the people who said you should lead with
it and make it the only focus. To me, either direction,
you're showing an agenda that's unfair. Um. And I think
you just need to be fair about the situation and
included where you feel, um, it's part of his entire story,
where it ranks in his entire story as a human
san Mrs We got her suspended. She also received death
(12:11):
threats and had to stay in a hotel. Coming up,
Bryant and his daughter get a Hollywood style send off
and still to come. Bryant's death leaves a void in
the black community, as the death and life of Kobe
Bryant continues. On the evening of the crash, the Grammy
(12:45):
Awards happened in downtown Los Angeles. We touched on it
in episode two. But what people don't know is the
voice of the Grammys would become the voice of the memorial.
Everyone was just a person. It just felt, It just
felt really warm and beautiful. Ellen Kay is best known
for her popular morning show at KOST FM in Los Angeles,
(13:06):
but she's also very well known for her high profile
voice over work for major award shows and TV specials.
She remembers the morning of the crash, she was getting
ready for her job as the announcer for the Grammy
Awards at Staples Center. So this is early early morning
that day, and so I said to my husband, Hey,
will you be my chauffeur. Just we're gonna fake it.
I'm going to drive myself because I got a parking
(13:27):
pass down to Staples. I call times not until ten,
So just pretend like you're my chauffeur and drive me
to the Grammy. So we just we're making a video.
We're having fun. I pulled back in the driveway with
my husband got out. My son met us at the
driveway and said, Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter accident.
(13:49):
I just saw it on t MC and at first
I'm like, there's no way the TMC has been hacked.
That's what I thought. So my phone started, you know,
alerting me, ringing, text, buzz, buzz buzz. So it was
kenn of Earlick and his team at the Grammys. Ken
(14:10):
then Ron saying get down here immediately. We're you know,
we only have a few hours were we've got to
scrap parts of the show. And you know, it's interesting, Steve.
The day before was Alicia Key's birthday and she was
so excited to be hosting the Grammys and it was
all lighthearted fun and you know, she had all the
(14:32):
outfits rolling in. It was it was just going to
be an awards show. So to then realize, oh, the
news is true. I listen to kf I on my
way down as as everything was unfolding, and you know,
you guys kept me up to all the details that
you had that up until that moment when I pulled
(14:53):
into the belly of the Staples Center and um, it
was so still, which is crazy. For a giant. I
mean the Grammys, there's so much movement usually, but everything
was still, and I'll never forget that stillness. It was
just everybody devastated, crying, you know, red faces, tears, just
(15:19):
tears everywhere. And Alicia Keys was with the producers, um,
and they were planning what they were going to do,
and I thought it came up beautifully with boys two
men and what she said, and she's she was, She's
so perfect for that moment because um, she just wanted
(15:39):
to speak from her heart, which is what she did.
You know, there were no scripts, there was nothing. It
was just you know, Alicia, you you're the host. You
can do this. Um, you'll do a great job. You
can bring us all together coming up. Little did Ellen
Kay realize her long time work with the producers of
(16:01):
the Grammy Awards would lead to a very unexpected call.
As the death in Life of Kobe Bryant continues, Nationally
(16:23):
syndicated radio personality Kurt Alexander, otherwise known as Big Boy,
was a close friend of Bryant's. Bryant was a frequent
in studio guest on Alexander's morning show called Big Boys
Neighborhood in Los Angeles. To actually get up that day
and know that you were getting dressed to go to
a Kobe Bryant memorial felt different because I'm so used
(16:46):
to go into Staples Center, celebrating Kobe Bryant at the
Staples Center, and I got so much happiness with concerts
and everything at the Staples Center, Laker basketball with Kobe
Bryant the Staples Center, the last game he played at
the Staples Center. I'm there so to Actually, when when
(17:08):
I was in line with my wife, we had that
conversation and it was like, Baby, how crazy does this feel?
You know, We've walked into the Staples Center with thousands
upon thousands of people cheering Kobe Bryant on. And when
you walked in that day, it was just a feeling
that you never thought that you would have in the
Staples Center before. Well known radio host and professional voiceover
(17:31):
artist Ellen Kay remembers the day she heard about the crash.
She was about to do her job as the announcer
of the Grammy Awards that night. A few weeks later,
Ellen would get another call and another job. The Kobe
Bryant memorial was produced by the same Grammy producers. Kenn
Erlik and Ron Vassile And they called me one night
after they had just left Vanessa's house and they said, UM,
(17:55):
where we are putting together memorial and Vanessa's asked us
to do it. We would like to, Um have you
voiced it? Do you you think that's something you would
be up for? She wants a female voice. We suggested
you and she said yes, so we're asking you can you?
And I said absolutely, I will be there. Did this
(18:18):
did this invitation feel any different? Yes? Yeah, And I'll
tell you why. Um, these guys are friends of mine.
I've worked with them for so many years. Ah, this
time it was just the two of them. It wasn't
their team. No one else was reaching out. It wasn't
the usual hey can you come back this year or
anything like that. It was just it was them on
(18:39):
the phone and conference together. And and so when when
I got the call, it was in the evening and
I thought, oh wow, it's Ken and Ron and they were,
you know, on the line. I think Ron said, Hey,
I'm going to patch Kennan. And then they explained where
they had just been and you could just hear it
in their voices like they had they had a job
to do for Vanessa, for our city, for everyone who
(19:02):
loves Kobe, for the world, and um, I thought that
it was a really beautiful memorial, you know. I didn't
even think about it. I did the radio show here
at Coast and then left a little early, about an
hour early, and my husband picked me up and he
drove me down, dropped me off, and there was Genie
(19:24):
Buss and we walked down the tunnel quietly together and
she was inconsolable, understandably so. And then um, there was
no one backstage yet. There were some people were being seated.
There are a lot of people outside and a lot
of air traffic. Um. And but then again there's that
(19:46):
stillness in the big place, like under the Staples Center.
It's just you know. And Genie um went to a
corner under the rafters and she sat on a chair
with her phone, all alone. She stayed there until until
jay Z came along and he walked by kind of
(20:07):
did a head nod, and then I realized, oh, there
are going to be a lot of people like him
here today. I didn't even think about who might be there. Um.
And when they gave me the run of show, I
saw that Beyonce was opening, and uh, I saw you
know who was performing and there was a simple, simple
(20:28):
script and they took me to the visiting locker room
where there was a microphone, and they later brought a monitor.
And oh, a part that I thought was really it
kind of brought some levity to the to the day
is Phil Jackson really needed to pee and so he
was standing right outside the visiting locker room because I
was right as you walk onto the floor, and he
(20:49):
knocked and I went to the door and opened and
he said, oh, I'm so sorry. I said, no, go on,
and I left the room and so he had the
whole locker room to himself. That happened multiple times. UM
shack also and um there were a couple other people
who had to go use the bathroom trying to remember
who it was, but there were just so many you know,
(21:10):
celebrities there. Um. Vanessa used my voice over booth to
change Capri's diaper and she was quite a calm. But
it was Michael Jordan's at the teleprompter monitor that really
got me, because I've never seen anyone cry and solve
(21:33):
like he did. And we were all alone back there
with one with one other producer I was changing shoes
from sneakers into heels, and I was barefoot when he
walked up and he wanted to read through the teleprompter.
He goes, oh, I know a lot about shoes. That
is such a great line, and so that we were laughing,
(21:53):
and then he started reading what he said at the
memorial and he had to up and his whole body
was shaking and handed him a box of tissues. He
wanted to be the best basketball player that he could be,
and as I got to know him, I wanted to
be the best big brother that I could be. I
(22:18):
took great pride as I got to know Kobe Bryant
that he was just trying to be a better person,
a better basketball player. We talked about business, we talked
about firing me, we talked about everything, and he was
just trying to be a better person in the game
of basketball, in life as a parent. Kobe left nothing
(22:45):
in the tank. He left it all on the floor.
No one knows how much time we have. That's why
we must live in the moment. We must enjoy the moment.
We must reach and see and spend as much time
as we can with our families and friends and the
(23:06):
people that we absolutely love. To live in the moment
means to enjoy each and everyone that we come in
contact with. When Kobe Bryant died, a piece of me died,
and as I look in this arena and across the globe,
(23:27):
a piece of you die. I will live with the
memories of knowing that I had a little brother and
I tried to help in everywhere I could. Please rest
in peace, a little broth And it's amazing. I've never
been that close to Michael Jordan before. I was standing
right next to him, and I didn't know really what
(23:50):
to do. I wanted to hug him, I didn't know him.
I didn't want to, you know, break a boundary or
get in his space. But he stopped and then started again,
and Shack Wa ped up and they ripped each other,
and shack Shack was asked, you want us to put
your speech, and the telepromm said no, I'm gonna I'm
gonna keep it in my pocket. So he has was
written handwritten on a piece of paper and he put
(24:11):
in his pocket. When I have imagined speaking to a
group of people about Kobe Bryant, I usually picture in
the context of his Hall of fame induction or as
a guest speakure I want to Kobe and Vanessa's Foundations event.
But never ever could I have imagined that I'd be
here today speaking at his memorial, and it pains me
(24:32):
to my core. Ellen also remembers the minutes leading up
to the beginning of the show when I put my
headphones on. We were getting ready to go, and I'm
looking at my monitor that all the lights went down
in the house and my mic was live and I
didn't know it, and Beyonce was in place, and they
told me, okay, wait, wait, so I'm listening to them
in my headset and Ken or like asked me, are
(24:57):
you ready? And I said yes, and it went all
through the house. No, I said, I said ready, and
it went all through the house. And then they said
you're live your life go, so you hear this ready,
And then we started and um, yeah, it was it
(25:19):
was it was just it was just something that I
can't really can't really remember. It's hard to describe. My
feet couldn't feel my feet, and look, I'm there on
the crew, but it was just that it was such
a small, a small operation compared to what we had
just done. A month earlier. It was really literally two
(25:41):
guys and um you know of course sound engineering, teleprompter lights.
It was yeah, it was all within one one table
backstage and then me in a locker room. It was yeah,
it was. It brought us closer together, that's for sure.
(26:11):
Alicia Keys played Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, a song that Bryant
himself learned to play on piano for his wife Vanessa
Ellen Kay, says host Jimmy Kimmel had a tough time
getting through the show. I want to thank everyone for
being here and thank you for gathering to celebrate the
(26:36):
lives of Listen out to Belly, her parents John and
carry out to Belly, Peyton Chester, her mother Sarah Chester,
Christina Mouser are as a Bayan G. G. Bryant and
her father Kobe Bryant. Um. Hm, this is a sad day,
(27:04):
but it is also uh celebration of life of their lives.
I don't think any of us could have imagined this.
And after the teammates and mentors spoke, it was time
to hear from Bryant's wife Vanessa. Thank you all so
(27:25):
much for being here. Means so much to us. They'll
pouring of love and support that my family has felt
from around the world has been so uplifting. Thank you
so much for all your prayers. I'd like to talk
about both Kobe and Gig, but I'll start with my
(27:46):
baby girl first. My baby girl. H m h m hmm. Okay.
(28:13):
We will not be able to see Gig go to
high school with Natalia and ask her how her day went.
We didn't get the chance to teach her how to
drive a car. I won't be able to tell her
how gorgeous she looks on her wedding day. I'll never
(28:42):
get to see my baby girl walk down the guisle,
have a father daughter, dance with her daddy, dance on
the dance floor with me, or have babies of her own.
Gianna would have been an amazing mommy. She was very
maternal ever since she was really little. M g g
(29:02):
would have most likely become the best player in the
w n b A. She would have made a huge difference.
I have no idea how I deserved a man that
loved and wanted me more than Kobe. He even handmade
(29:23):
my most treasured gifts. He just thought outside the box
and was so thoughtful, even while working hard to be
the best athlete. He give to me the actual Notebook
and the blue dress Rachel McAdams wore in the Notebook movie.
When I asked him why he chose the blue dress,
(29:44):
he said it was because it's a scene when Ali
comes back to Noah. We had hope to grow old together.
Like the movie, we really had an amazing love story.
We loved each other with our whole beings too perfectly,
I perfect people, making a beautiful family and raising our
sweet and amazing girls. God knew they couldn't be on
(30:08):
this earth without each other. He had to bring them
home to happn together. Baby, You take care of our
Gichi and I got naughty Baby and Cocoa. We're still
(30:30):
the best team. We love in Missu bu Boo and Gigi.
May you both rest in peace and have fun in
heaven until we meet again one day. We love you
both and miss you forever and always. Mommy Yeah. Coming
(31:03):
up in episode five, Even good pilots can end up
in bad situations, and a cause of the crash has
been determined and still to come. Bryant's impact in the
art world. The Death and Life of Kobe Bryant is
a production of k i I News that I Heart
Media Los Angeles for the iHeart Podcast Network
Officials with the Los Angeles County Corner. We're working to
release the names of all nine people aboard the helicopter
that crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, and the NTSBS
go team has been on scene for a few days.
During that time, media outlets were any feeding frenzy for
information about who was on board and why the helicopter crash.
I really could not believe my eyes at some of
(00:27):
the things that I was seeing, um some of the
recklessness from some reporters. I'm Steve Gregory in Los Angeles,
and this is the death and life of Kobe Bryant.
Sports journalist Larry Brown remembers getting a text alert on
the morning of the crash. I've been doing this long
enough where I have a detector as to whether or
(00:49):
not I believe stories, whether or not I need to
investigate more, whether they could be true or not. And
everything about this one signaled to me, Oh, my goodness,
this is real. Brown owns and operates the website Larry
Brown sports dot com and says he went into reporter
mode immediately following an alert from TMZ Sports. I knew
right away that this story was massive, with gigantic implications
(01:13):
and was going to be huge. And from that point on,
I was locked in on the computer for several hours straight, UM,
just trying to type away different stories, adding updates, organizing
when big stories like this happened. UM. I want to
be have the most thorough, complete and accurate coverage possible,
(01:34):
and I want people knowing that they could come to
my website for reliable content. UM. And I was just
locked in and I probably didn't come up for air
for the next seven hours or so. Brown says. He
remembers the overwhelming amount of information and knew this was
a lot to process. You remember, at first it from
the first thing was to confirm did this actually happen?
(01:57):
Did Kobe Bryant really die in this helicopter crash? Then
it was how did it happen, who was aboard? How
many died? And for a few hours it was just
about getting those actual raw details and facts about the story.
And so I saw so much of this information being
shared I and I remember going through every step of
(02:19):
this process as some of this stuff was unsure, and
just seeing the way some of it unfolded and the
way some outlets reported things. UM was very concerning I
really could not believe my eyes at some of the
things that I was seeing. Um, some of the recklessness
from some reporters, not understanding the ramifications of what they
(02:42):
were doing when they throughout information that turned out to
be incorrect. So I know I wrote it. I felt
at the time that it was an important part of
the story to share, was how bad some of the
media coverage was, and kind of just to put it
out there as a reminder like this story is too big,
as too much gravity to get some of these important
(03:04):
things wrong. But then Brown says he noticed more and
more sloppy reporting by media outlets. There were several passengers aboard,
and there are people involved here who would like to
know whether or not their loved one has actually died,
and you can't be giving them bad information. That's uh,
You're toying with a lot of people's emotions. It's inappropriate. Um.
(03:28):
And so I remember just just going through that and
just thinking I needed to write about it. Hours after
the crash, Brown would write about the sloppy reporting, the
bad TV live shots, and the blatantly wrong information being
broadcast around the world, even the Los Angeles County Sheriff's
department posted a poorly written tweet that read five people
confirmed deceased, no survivors in Calabasa's helicopter crash. All the
(03:51):
l A County Sheriff's Department had to do with, say
at least five confirm debt or we know that there
have been five people come from dead so far um,
at least some way of of saying it so that
we knew that it was not only five but we
know of five so far UM. Because it seemed more
(04:13):
definitive the way they presented it as if that was it,
um and and that was problematic. So I think the
language that they used, they should have been much more careful. UM.
With the way they did it. I thought, you know,
there was a reporter Um. It was really bad. ABC
S Matt Gutman, Um was on air. And I understand
(04:37):
when you're live on air that you don't have a
script in front of you, that you're talking off the
top of your head, and it leaves open the possibility
for for airs. But that's where you have to be
more vigilant and be on top of things. You cannot
possibly go on air and say something to the entire
(04:57):
country of the nature of I have heard or there
there is talk that all four of Kobe's children were
on board. That's not something you can say on that
kind of a platform so casually without having that confirmed. Um,
I thought that was really really poor reporting, poor judgment,
(05:22):
um and And that's the kind of catastrophic error to me,
that's that's you know, I couldn't have someone working for
me if they would make an air that big. It
shows such poor judgment in in the most important times
when you can't prepare. Um, that was really bad. One
of the earliest rumors was that former Lakers teammate and
friend of Bryant Rick Fox was among those who died
(05:44):
in the crash. The Rick Fox example, that to me
is the quint essential. So that the Rick Fox thing,
that's not a professional doing something wrong, like a professional
reporter on TV who is ad living. Uh, they're showing
poor judgment and poor skill by just blabbing something out
(06:05):
there of that nature that's incorrect. That's that's poor professionalism.
Um And in my opinion, if I were running a station,
that's grounds for firing. The Rick Fox is an example
of amateurs doing something wrong. That's social media taking over
and doing wrong, because that one completely originated on social media,
(06:27):
with someone just throwing something out there on Twitter and
then it just snowballs from there. People don't people who
don't have any consequences to their actions, Like for me,
if I write something, there are consequences for me. If
I publish the story, I could be sued. Um. If
you go on air and say something, if you're a reporter,
you can be suspended, fired, you could be found liabel,
(06:49):
there are consequences. For any random person on Twitter, there
are no consequences, So they could just see a story
and just retweet it and the retweets spread so much
faster than the corrections. Um. And that's what happened with
Rick Fox. That was just a classic example of social
media running rampant with a rumor. It had no basis
(07:09):
in reality. Um. The origins of that do not trace
back to any venerable reporter. No media outlet reported it.
It was just a pure social media rumor that just
spread to the point. I remember getting a text a
message from my uncle saying, hey, I you know, I
heard Rick Fox may have died too. I was like, Oh,
that's just total crap. Um. I couldn't believe how it spread,
(07:32):
But it just shows that people don't verify before tweeting
because they don't have consequences, and then just false information
can completely go viral as a result. One of the
more controversial stories that came out that day was from
Washington Post political reporter Felicia Sanmez. San mess first tweet
about the crash was simply a link to a Daily
(07:52):
Beast article on the felony sexual assault case against Bryant.
Brown retweeted it with the comment san man Is decided
now would be a good time to bring up Kobe
Bryant's rape case, and it ended up setting the record
for biggest ratio and Twitter history, and then she doubled
and tripled down, lecturing others for responding negatively. Well, I
(08:13):
think it is important to include it as part of
Bryant's story, and it is um but the way I
view it is one of the core tenants of journalism
is fairness. And if someone just died in a helicopter crash,
who was beloved, who who meant so much to a
(08:35):
city and and to the world, and who accomplished so much,
I think it's really important to be fair and to
view everything altogether, and what part of the entire picture
of what Kobe Bryant did for the world and why
he was remembered. What portion of it is is that
(08:55):
case in Colorado, and what portion of it is the
positive impact act he had on people's lives, on the sport,
on fans. And I think it's importantly important to try
and and rank it all and put it into a context. Um.
And for me, if you are leading with that as
(09:18):
the first thing when you talk about Kobe, I don't
think that's being fair to his entire legacy as a
human being. UM. If you bury it as the very
last thing you say, or you omit it entirely, that's
not being fair either. I think it's important to put
it in its proper context. And to me, when I
evaluate the whole thing, when I look at Kobe Bryant
(09:40):
and what he did, UM, I think if you are
looking at Kobe's life as of whatever it was two
thousand three or two thousand four, UM, I think it
was a big part of his story at that point.
I think a lot of his story was he was,
you know, born to a former pro basketball player, he
grew up and Italy, he was drafted straight out of
(10:02):
high school. He was a young player picked by uh
wound up going to the Lakers. He came off the bench,
he won a few championships, and he's got this big case,
But there was so much time that happened after that,
and so many more things that he accomplished, and so
many good things that he started to do. He became
a family man. He had all these children. He was
(10:23):
being a positive role model for them. He had gone
into filmmaking, um, he had his MoMA mentality that he
was trying to influence other basketball players. He was trying
to bring a lot more attention to women's sports and
empower females in athletics. And there were so many more
(10:43):
things that he had done and so many more accomplishments
he had made that it starts to push that down
further and there's just so much more to his story,
And so I think it ranks in there, but I
don't think it's at the top, and I don't think
it should be omitted. But it does have its place,
and the question is where are you placing it? And
(11:03):
I think you've got to talk about all the positive
things that he all the positive impact he had on
the world, um first and foremost, while then also including
and saying that that is part of his legacy as well,
and also, um, you know, quite frankly being truthful about
this situation that Kobe always maintained that he was innocent
(11:28):
and that any encounter was consensual. Um. And I think
it's important to include that information too. So it's just
a matter of how you you know, I think if
you omit it, you're doing it wrong. And I think
if you make that the soul focus, UM, I think
you're doing it wrong as well. And that those were
my problems where the people who said you should omit
(11:49):
it and the people who said you should lead with
it and make it the only focus. To me, either direction,
you're showing an agenda that's unfair. Um. And I think
you just need to be fair about the situation and
included where you feel, um, it's part of his entire story,
where it ranks in his entire story as a human
san Mrs We got her suspended. She also received death
(12:11):
threats and had to stay in a hotel. Coming up,
Bryant and his daughter get a Hollywood style send off
and still to come. Bryant's death leaves a void in
the black community, as the death and life of Kobe
Bryant continues. On the evening of the crash, the Grammy
(12:45):
Awards happened in downtown Los Angeles. We touched on it
in episode two. But what people don't know is the
voice of the Grammys would become the voice of the memorial.
Everyone was just a person. It just felt, It just
felt really warm and beautiful. Ellen Kay is best known
for her popular morning show at KOST FM in Los Angeles,
(13:06):
but she's also very well known for her high profile
voice over work for major award shows and TV specials.
She remembers the morning of the crash, she was getting
ready for her job as the announcer for the Grammy
Awards at Staples Center. So this is early early morning
that day, and so I said to my husband, Hey,
will you be my chauffeur. Just we're gonna fake it.
I'm going to drive myself because I got a parking
(13:27):
pass down to Staples. I call times not until ten,
So just pretend like you're my chauffeur and drive me
to the Grammy. So we just we're making a video.
We're having fun. I pulled back in the driveway with
my husband got out. My son met us at the
driveway and said, Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter accident.
(13:49):
I just saw it on t MC and at first
I'm like, there's no way the TMC has been hacked.
That's what I thought. So my phone started, you know,
alerting me, ringing, text, buzz, buzz buzz. So it was
kenn of Earlick and his team at the Grammys. Ken
(14:10):
then Ron saying get down here immediately. We're you know,
we only have a few hours were we've got to
scrap parts of the show. And you know, it's interesting, Steve.
The day before was Alicia Key's birthday and she was
so excited to be hosting the Grammys and it was
all lighthearted fun and you know, she had all the
(14:32):
outfits rolling in. It was it was just going to
be an awards show. So to then realize, oh, the
news is true. I listen to kf I on my
way down as as everything was unfolding, and you know,
you guys kept me up to all the details that
you had that up until that moment when I pulled
(14:53):
into the belly of the Staples Center and um, it
was so still, which is crazy. For a giant. I
mean the Grammys, there's so much movement usually, but everything
was still, and I'll never forget that stillness. It was
just everybody devastated, crying, you know, red faces, tears, just
(15:19):
tears everywhere. And Alicia Keys was with the producers, um,
and they were planning what they were going to do,
and I thought it came up beautifully with boys two
men and what she said, and she's she was, She's
so perfect for that moment because um, she just wanted
(15:39):
to speak from her heart, which is what she did.
You know, there were no scripts, there was nothing. It
was just you know, Alicia, you you're the host. You
can do this. Um, you'll do a great job. You
can bring us all together coming up. Little did Ellen
Kay realize her long time work with the producers of
(16:01):
the Grammy Awards would lead to a very unexpected call.
As the death in Life of Kobe Bryant continues, Nationally
(16:23):
syndicated radio personality Kurt Alexander, otherwise known as Big Boy,
was a close friend of Bryant's. Bryant was a frequent
in studio guest on Alexander's morning show called Big Boys
Neighborhood in Los Angeles. To actually get up that day
and know that you were getting dressed to go to
a Kobe Bryant memorial felt different because I'm so used
(16:46):
to go into Staples Center, celebrating Kobe Bryant at the
Staples Center, and I got so much happiness with concerts
and everything at the Staples Center, Laker basketball with Kobe
Bryant the Staples Center, the last game he played at
the Staples Center. I'm there so to Actually, when when
(17:08):
I was in line with my wife, we had that
conversation and it was like, Baby, how crazy does this feel?
You know, We've walked into the Staples Center with thousands
upon thousands of people cheering Kobe Bryant on. And when
you walked in that day, it was just a feeling
that you never thought that you would have in the
Staples Center before. Well known radio host and professional voiceover
(17:31):
artist Ellen Kay remembers the day she heard about the crash.
She was about to do her job as the announcer
of the Grammy Awards that night. A few weeks later,
Ellen would get another call and another job. The Kobe
Bryant memorial was produced by the same Grammy producers. Kenn
Erlik and Ron Vassile And they called me one night
after they had just left Vanessa's house and they said, UM,
(17:55):
where we are putting together memorial and Vanessa's asked us
to do it. We would like to, Um have you
voiced it? Do you you think that's something you would
be up for? She wants a female voice. We suggested
you and she said yes, so we're asking you can you?
And I said absolutely, I will be there. Did this
(18:18):
did this invitation feel any different? Yes? Yeah, And I'll
tell you why. Um, these guys are friends of mine.
I've worked with them for so many years. Ah, this
time it was just the two of them. It wasn't
their team. No one else was reaching out. It wasn't
the usual hey can you come back this year or
anything like that. It was just it was them on
(18:39):
the phone and conference together. And and so when when
I got the call, it was in the evening and
I thought, oh wow, it's Ken and Ron and they were,
you know, on the line. I think Ron said, Hey,
I'm going to patch Kennan. And then they explained where
they had just been and you could just hear it
in their voices like they had they had a job
to do for Vanessa, for our city, for everyone who
(19:02):
loves Kobe, for the world, and um, I thought that
it was a really beautiful memorial, you know. I didn't
even think about it. I did the radio show here
at Coast and then left a little early, about an
hour early, and my husband picked me up and he
drove me down, dropped me off, and there was Genie
(19:24):
Buss and we walked down the tunnel quietly together and
she was inconsolable, understandably so. And then um, there was
no one backstage yet. There were some people were being seated.
There are a lot of people outside and a lot
of air traffic. Um. And but then again there's that
(19:46):
stillness in the big place, like under the Staples Center.
It's just you know. And Genie um went to a
corner under the rafters and she sat on a chair
with her phone, all alone. She stayed there until until
jay Z came along and he walked by kind of
(20:07):
did a head nod, and then I realized, oh, there
are going to be a lot of people like him
here today. I didn't even think about who might be there. Um.
And when they gave me the run of show, I
saw that Beyonce was opening, and uh, I saw you
know who was performing and there was a simple, simple
(20:28):
script and they took me to the visiting locker room
where there was a microphone, and they later brought a monitor.
And oh, a part that I thought was really it
kind of brought some levity to the to the day
is Phil Jackson really needed to pee and so he
was standing right outside the visiting locker room because I
was right as you walk onto the floor, and he
(20:49):
knocked and I went to the door and opened and
he said, oh, I'm so sorry. I said, no, go on,
and I left the room and so he had the
whole locker room to himself. That happened multiple times. UM
shack also and um there were a couple other people
who had to go use the bathroom trying to remember
who it was, but there were just so many you know,
(21:10):
celebrities there. Um. Vanessa used my voice over booth to
change Capri's diaper and she was quite a calm. But
it was Michael Jordan's at the teleprompter monitor that really
got me, because I've never seen anyone cry and solve
(21:33):
like he did. And we were all alone back there
with one with one other producer I was changing shoes
from sneakers into heels, and I was barefoot when he
walked up and he wanted to read through the teleprompter.
He goes, oh, I know a lot about shoes. That
is such a great line, and so that we were laughing,
(21:53):
and then he started reading what he said at the
memorial and he had to up and his whole body
was shaking and handed him a box of tissues. He
wanted to be the best basketball player that he could be,
and as I got to know him, I wanted to
be the best big brother that I could be. I
(22:18):
took great pride as I got to know Kobe Bryant
that he was just trying to be a better person,
a better basketball player. We talked about business, we talked
about firing me, we talked about everything, and he was
just trying to be a better person in the game
of basketball, in life as a parent. Kobe left nothing
(22:45):
in the tank. He left it all on the floor.
No one knows how much time we have. That's why
we must live in the moment. We must enjoy the moment.
We must reach and see and spend as much time
as we can with our families and friends and the
(23:06):
people that we absolutely love. To live in the moment
means to enjoy each and everyone that we come in
contact with. When Kobe Bryant died, a piece of me died,
and as I look in this arena and across the globe,
(23:27):
a piece of you die. I will live with the
memories of knowing that I had a little brother and
I tried to help in everywhere I could. Please rest
in peace, a little broth And it's amazing. I've never
been that close to Michael Jordan before. I was standing
right next to him, and I didn't know really what
(23:50):
to do. I wanted to hug him, I didn't know him.
I didn't want to, you know, break a boundary or
get in his space. But he stopped and then started again,
and Shack Wa ped up and they ripped each other,
and shack Shack was asked, you want us to put
your speech, and the telepromm said no, I'm gonna I'm
gonna keep it in my pocket. So he has was
written handwritten on a piece of paper and he put
(24:11):
in his pocket. When I have imagined speaking to a
group of people about Kobe Bryant, I usually picture in
the context of his Hall of fame induction or as
a guest speakure I want to Kobe and Vanessa's Foundations event.
But never ever could I have imagined that I'd be
here today speaking at his memorial, and it pains me
(24:32):
to my core. Ellen also remembers the minutes leading up
to the beginning of the show when I put my
headphones on. We were getting ready to go, and I'm
looking at my monitor that all the lights went down
in the house and my mic was live and I
didn't know it, and Beyonce was in place, and they
told me, okay, wait, wait, so I'm listening to them
in my headset and Ken or like asked me, are
(24:57):
you ready? And I said yes, and it went all
through the house. No, I said, I said ready, and
it went all through the house. And then they said
you're live your life go, so you hear this ready,
And then we started and um, yeah, it was it
(25:19):
was it was just it was just something that I
can't really can't really remember. It's hard to describe. My
feet couldn't feel my feet, and look, I'm there on
the crew, but it was just that it was such
a small, a small operation compared to what we had
just done. A month earlier. It was really literally two
(25:41):
guys and um you know of course sound engineering, teleprompter lights.
It was yeah, it was all within one one table
backstage and then me in a locker room. It was yeah,
it was. It brought us closer together, that's for sure.
(26:11):
Alicia Keys played Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, a song that Bryant
himself learned to play on piano for his wife Vanessa
Ellen Kay, says host Jimmy Kimmel had a tough time
getting through the show. I want to thank everyone for
being here and thank you for gathering to celebrate the
(26:36):
lives of Listen out to Belly, her parents John and
carry out to Belly, Peyton Chester, her mother Sarah Chester,
Christina Mouser are as a Bayan G. G. Bryant and
her father Kobe Bryant. Um. Hm, this is a sad day,
(27:04):
but it is also uh celebration of life of their lives.
I don't think any of us could have imagined this.
And after the teammates and mentors spoke, it was time
to hear from Bryant's wife Vanessa. Thank you all so
(27:25):
much for being here. Means so much to us. They'll
pouring of love and support that my family has felt
from around the world has been so uplifting. Thank you
so much for all your prayers. I'd like to talk
about both Kobe and Gig, but I'll start with my
(27:46):
baby girl first. My baby girl. H m h m hmm. Okay.
(28:13):
We will not be able to see Gig go to
high school with Natalia and ask her how her day went.
We didn't get the chance to teach her how to
drive a car. I won't be able to tell her
how gorgeous she looks on her wedding day. I'll never
(28:42):
get to see my baby girl walk down the guisle,
have a father daughter, dance with her daddy, dance on
the dance floor with me, or have babies of her own.
Gianna would have been an amazing mommy. She was very
maternal ever since she was really little. M g g
(29:02):
would have most likely become the best player in the
w n b A. She would have made a huge difference.
I have no idea how I deserved a man that
loved and wanted me more than Kobe. He even handmade
(29:23):
my most treasured gifts. He just thought outside the box
and was so thoughtful, even while working hard to be
the best athlete. He give to me the actual Notebook
and the blue dress Rachel McAdams wore in the Notebook movie.
When I asked him why he chose the blue dress,
(29:44):
he said it was because it's a scene when Ali
comes back to Noah. We had hope to grow old together.
Like the movie, we really had an amazing love story.
We loved each other with our whole beings too perfectly,
I perfect people, making a beautiful family and raising our
sweet and amazing girls. God knew they couldn't be on
(30:08):
this earth without each other. He had to bring them
home to happn together. Baby, You take care of our
Gichi and I got naughty Baby and Cocoa. We're still
(30:30):
the best team. We love in Missu bu Boo and Gigi.
May you both rest in peace and have fun in
heaven until we meet again one day. We love you
both and miss you forever and always. Mommy Yeah. Coming
(31:03):
up in episode five, Even good pilots can end up
in bad situations, and a cause of the crash has
been determined and still to come. Bryant's impact in the
art world. The Death and Life of Kobe Bryant is
a production of k i I News that I Heart
Media Los Angeles for the iHeart Podcast Network
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