January 26th, 2020 is a date that will forever bear a black mark in NBA history. On that fateful day, the NBA world lost Kobe Bryant, along with his young daughter Gianna, and 7 other people in a tragic helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. The victims included the Altobelli family, John, Keri, and Alyssa, Payton Chester, and her mother Sara, Christina Mauser, and the pilot, Ara Zobayan.
The incident was mourned worldwide, especially by the NBA community, who came together as one to pay tribute to all the people that lost their lives. The loss was also immense for Vanessa Bryant, Kobe’s wife, who lost her husband and daughter. Vanessa has been a beacon of strength and hope since then, continuing the good work she and her husband started.
But there was another terrible aspect of the crash that wasn’t spoken about much. Pictures were taken at the site of the crash that a Sheriff’s Deputy and a firefighter allegedly shared with people while off duty. And this invasion of privacy led to Vanessa Bryant filing a suit against Los Angeles County’s Sheriff’s Department and Fire Department. That trial begins on Wednesday, as per ESPN.
“Mrs. Bryant feels ill at the thought that sheriff’s deputies, firefighters, and members of the public have gawked at gratuitous images of her deceased husband and child,” the lawsuit says. “She lives in fear that she or her children will one day confront horrific images of their loved ones online.”
Bryant is seeking unspecified damages for this act, and the trial will determine what exactly occurred on that tragic day. The one truth in this matter is that those pictures should never see the light of day in any public setting. The trial itself will resolve itself, but ultimately, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth of everyone that lost someone important in that horrible accident.
