Nearly 1.5 million people have signed a petition calling on the NBA to change its logo to honour Kobe Bryant following his death on Sunday, January 26.
Bryant, 41, and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna (GiGi), died alongside seven other people when the helicopter they were travelling in crashed. They were on their way to the Mamba Academy for basketball practice.
Eyewitnesses say they heard the helicopter sputtering before it crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, west of Los Angeles, and burst into flames.
Now, fans of Bryant – who was considered to be one of the greatest basketball players in the game’s history – are signing a petition calling on the association to ‘immortalise’ the 41-year-old in the form of a new logo.
The Change.org petition reads:
With the untimely and unexpected passing of the great Kobe Bryant please sign this petition in an attempt to immortalise him forever as the new NBA Logo.
Creator Nick M added that he hoped ‘our dream does come true and we are able to see Kobe Bryant engraved into the NBA Logo’.
The current NBA logo was designed by Alan Siegel and features the silhouette of Los Angeles Lakers great Jerry West. Except for a small change to the font in 2017, the NBA has used the same iconic logo since 1971.
It is not clear whether the organisation would consider updating its logo, and West – who was also once the LA Laker’s general manager – is yet to comment on the campaign.
However, he did pay tribute to Bryant after news of his death was confirmed, telling CBS News he felt as though he had lost a son.
He continued:
To hear this news this morning, frankly… at first I was shocked, and then after a while it’s really sunk in… I really felt like a surrogate father to him.
As well as the millions of people signing the petition, supporters have also tweeted mocked-up versions of the logo complete with Bryant’s silhouette.
US investigators are currently working to determine the cause of the helicopter crash, with investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) gathering in the area.
Investigators are expected to focus on the weather conditions, and on any mechanical failures that may have occurred.
Conditions were foggy when the flight took off from John Wayne Airport just after 9am on Sunday, with local police grounding their helicopters due to the poor weather.
The pilot asked air traffic controllers for a special clearance, known as Special Visual Flight Rules, to fly in less than optimal weather, NTSB board member Jennifer Homendy said, as per BBC News.
She added the helicopter circled in the air for 12 minutes before being given the clearance, after which the pilot asked controllers for ‘flight following’ – an assistance given to helicopters to avoid collisions – but was told the craft was too low to be picked up by radar.
Minutes later, the pilot said he was ‘climbing to avoid a cloud layer’, she added. The helicopter climbed and began a left descending turn, according to radar data, before communication was lost ‘consistent with the accident location’.
Kobe and Gianna are survived by Kobe’s wife Vanessa, and their three other daughters, Natalia, Bianca and Capri.
Our thoughts are with the Bryant family and the loved ones of all those who died at this difficult time.
Rest in peace.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677.
A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).