0:06

Diversion podcasts, Born

0:13

next next

0:16

and only

0:19

going into met the government will be like I

0:22

did that. We just said we found

0:24

out how this already noted. It was going

0:27

on the way back on the bus ride, like two hour bus

0:30

ride. Bus had a leak in, it was

0:32

raining, rain, got bustings in the head. The

0:34

only thee was fun because we were point another.

0:37

We're making jokes on win another and having a good time.

0:39

You know we always do with a basketball here. That's

0:42

that's the only found fight about it. That

0:45

was Kobe Bryant with his friend and confident

0:48

Jeremy Treatment from the spring of talking

0:52

about one of the last obligations that Kobe

0:54

had to fulfill during his time

0:56

as a student and a basketball star

0:58

at Lower Merion High School. He

1:01

and his teammates and coaches had taken a

1:03

bus trip out to Harrisburg, the state capital,

1:06

to meet Governor Tom Ridge and to receive

1:08

a special acknowledgement from the state legislature.

1:10

It was one of Kobe's last opportunities

1:13

to be a kid among other kids before

1:16

almost everything in his life changed

1:18

forever. Nearly

1:32

twenty four years later, on the afternoon

1:34

of Sunday, January,

1:37

I was driving home from my in law's house. My

1:40

wife had gone grocery shopping. Our

1:43

sons, Evan and Gabe were in the car with

1:45

me. Evan was eight

1:47

at the time, Gabe was five. At

1:50

a stoplight, I picked up my phone

1:52

and checked my Twitter feed Britney

1:54

moves in this Sunday afternoon. Five time

1:57

NBA champion former League MVP

2:00

Kobe Bryant died earlier

2:02

this afternoon in Los Angeles and a helicopter

2:04

crashed. The news reports are just coming in

2:07

among multiple victims. Kobe Bryant on that

2:09

helicopter. We're gonna have. Ramona Shelbern

2:11

joined us now from Los Angeles. She is what

2:15

Kobe Bryant had died. I

2:18

actually said what out loud

2:20

in the car, and Evan got a little

2:22

worried, wondering what was wrong. I

2:24

played it off, told him, oh, nothing.

2:27

I didn't bring it up until we had gotten home ten minutes

2:30

later and I parked the car. We are

2:32

coming back on the air with new details and the

2:34

tragic death of NBA legend Kobe

2:36

Bryant. ABC News confirming the five

2:38

time NBA champion for the Los Angeles Lakers

2:41

was among five people killed when a helicopter

2:43

crashed and caught fire in southern California.

2:46

Authorities in Los Angeles County are holding a news coup.

2:48

I off handedly told Evan what had happened. I

2:50

was trying not to make a big deal out of it, Like

2:52

he had just gotten off the school bus and I was asking

2:55

him how his day had been. Besides,

2:57

we had to hustle. He had to get changed

2:59

and he had to head right out again. He had,

3:02

of all things, a basketball game.

3:05

As Evan was putting his uniform on, though, I had

3:07

to make a phone call. I searched my contacts

3:10

for Jeremy Treatment's number. Tell

3:12

me about the day he got. What were you

3:15

doing that goes on the phone with you. I'm

3:28

Mike Sealsky and from Diversion

3:31

Podcasts. This is I

3:33

am cobD

3:37

wat sne wht Slee to

3:39

Create myself Saigned

3:42

signs up and create yourself.

3:45

Say nice,

3:47

go on, create yourself.

3:50

You gotta line of fren great minds, but we

3:52

ain't line. Tell him that's getting time, Episode

3:56

ten, Remembering

3:58

Greatness. Two

4:12

things happen when someone famous dies,

4:14

especially when that person dies before their

4:16

time. The first is something

4:18

we all do. If that figure meant

4:21

something to you, like Kobe meant something

4:23

to so many. We mark the moment

4:26

we burn into our brains exactly where

4:28

we were, what we were doing when

4:30

we learned that this person was gone. Millions

4:33

of people did that. When Kobe Bryant died, I

4:36

happened to be in a car with my kids. Maybe

4:39

you were at church, or at your daughters swim

4:41

meet, or sitting with your feet up in your living

4:43

room. Doesn't matter. You don't

4:45

forget it. But there's

4:47

something else, and it happens only

4:49

to people who knew the person. You

4:52

review your own life and

4:55

you try to figure out where you fit

4:57

into their life. You

4:59

remember the best times you had together, the

5:02

hardest times, the times that

5:04

made you smile and laugh, the

5:06

times that made you furious. You

5:09

remember the last time you saw them,

5:11

the last time you spoke, the

5:13

last time they crossed your mind. Aren't

5:17

tell him. Kobe's first agent went

5:19

through that process when Kobe died. At

5:22

that point, tell him hadn't represented Kobe

5:24

in about twenty years. He

5:28

actually retired from being an agent and

5:30

became an executive with the Detroit Pistons,

5:33

And it was in Detroit where he and

5:35

Kobe talked in person for the last

5:37

time during Kobe's final season

5:40

with the Lakers. We

5:42

certainly had our you

5:45

know, issues where we disagreed,

5:47

but I have to say that in the end he

5:50

was always great to me and my family

5:53

and my kids. And

5:55

then, you know, five years ago write

5:58

something, Chop of the Pistons called

6:00

to congratulate me. And when I saw him

6:02

in Detroit as last year, my first

6:04

year of the businesses, last year playing

6:07

with the Lakers, came up to before the game,

6:09

gave me a hug, thanking for everything, and you

6:11

know, I couldn't have been nicer.

6:14

And he asked me if I was happy what I was

6:16

doing and and I said, you know how life

6:18

is. You have to always change and adapt

6:20

and challenge yourself. And I said, you're gonna do the same

6:22

thing as you go into your nice chapter and

6:24

I'll never forget. He said, yeah, my next chapter will

6:26

even be greater, and they ran off further. John Paul

6:39

tell him had known Kobe a long time. Kobe's

6:41

friends from Lower Marion had known him even longer

6:44

from spending the last year and a half talking

6:46

to them from my book and for this podcast,

6:50

I can tell you the Kobe's death

6:52

affected those people who knew him when

6:54

he was a kid in a different

6:56

way than it did just about anyone

6:58

else. I'm not suggesting

7:01

that Kobe's Lakers teammates or

7:03

his friends from the NBA weren't profoundly

7:05

saddened by his death. I'm not saying

7:08

that at all. But

7:10

the connection between Kobe and

7:12

people like Jeremy Treatment and his

7:14

high school coach Greg Downer, and

7:16

his classmates and teammates from Lower Marian

7:19

was something else Entirely. They

7:22

knew him before he was a star.

7:26

They bonded with him when he occupied

7:28

a space somewhere closer to our own,

7:31

before he became a star. Then

7:33

they watched him become a star.

7:36

It's like they were friends with Peter Parker before

7:39

that. Radioactive Spider bidden listen

7:44

to his friend Guy Stewart, his teammate at

7:46

Lower Marian, talk about what it was

7:48

like to find out that Kobe had died.

7:51

Guy was getting calls and text messages,

7:54

dozens of them from people who knew

7:56

him and knew Kobe, but he

7:58

didn't want to believe them.

8:01

And then I remember the moment

8:03

I see it on CNN, and I'm like, I

8:06

started like, I'm like my body shaking, I

8:10

can't like focus on anything.

8:12

It has been confirmed CNN is able to

8:14

tell you now that NBA star

8:17

Kobe Bryant was on board that helicopter

8:20

and is now dead at the age of forty

8:22

one. Or Christine Brooke, I'm like texting

8:24

everybody. I call a sister. She

8:27

doesn't answer, and I'm like, all right, well, like what's

8:30

what's going on? Not to say that she always

8:32

answers my calls or whatever like that, but Texas

8:36

cousin no response. I'm like, this

8:38

can't be true. And I'm

8:40

just like stuck in

8:42

my seat and I

8:45

just couldn't think of anything. And you

8:47

know, once they confirmed it, it was just like complete

8:50

just breakdown. You know, like

8:53

you expect to see this guy who was

8:55

like Superman to everybody that he that

8:57

that knew him personally, even

9:00

you know, even if you didn't know him person you just think,

9:02

like, that's not supposed to happen to a guy

9:05

like that, That's not supposed to

9:07

happen to his daughter, you know, and

9:10

you almost questioned God's plan, like how

9:12

like how could this happen? Do you expect like

9:15

the blame the crash and he's like

9:18

holding everybody in his arms and they come out

9:20

and he's fine,

9:23

you know, or just like the story is just just

9:26

isn't true. And I still can't believe it to this day.

9:28

I still can't believe that he's gone to this day.

9:30

Um, but yeah, I remember

9:32

that day like like it was yesterday. Emery

9:36

Dabney, the point guard and Lower Marrion

9:39

State championship team, the kid

9:41

who had joined Kobe for those scrimmages

9:43

and pickup games at St. Joseph's

9:45

and Episcopal during the summer, was

9:49

doing pretty much the same thing I was doing on

9:51

that day. He was going grocery shopping

9:53

with his wife. It was so crazy because

9:55

I had a friend who had found an old

9:58

picture of me and Kobe and it just text me picture

10:00

of us maybe like an hour before. We're driving

10:02

home and I get

10:04

a cough. My friend who lives in l A and he's kind

10:06

of scene out there. Well, one of our teammates

10:09

from college actually, and he told

10:11

me, he's like, yeah, Kobe died

10:13

up the helicopter crash. Like

10:15

you're you're a line, there's no way look

10:17

at the Hollida. He's like, I'm telling you and this is before the news

10:19

of broke, so he's like Emory and he's

10:21

kind of a prankster. So I was like, you're you're

10:24

full of ship on it. There's no way in the world that

10:26

that happened. So he's like,

10:28

Imry, I'm serious. And I got calls from people

10:30

like I'm telling you. So we kept

10:33

driving. I'm like, this be So my wife is

10:35

looking on her phone for the news and we don't see anything.

10:39

Calling back, I'm like, there's nothing on the news. You're you're you

10:41

know, you're full of ship, and like maybe like forty

10:43

or five minutes later, the news broke. Jeremy

10:57

Treatment was the guy I knew best

11:00

was close to Kobe. When I called

11:02

him that day, I just wanted to touch

11:04

base with him, to see what he knew and

11:06

how he was doing. He was at

11:08

Jefferson University in the East Falls

11:10

neighborhood of Philadelphia. He was

11:12

overseeing a high school basketball tournament there

11:15

and a big game was about to start between

11:17

German Town Academy and Newman Garrett,

11:20

two of the top teams in the Philadelphia

11:22

about all this and all of a sudden, and I was getting

11:24

his text, and the first text came

11:26

from my friend Jeff Isais is probably the biggest

11:29

jokester I know, so how ironic

11:31

He's the biggest jokes right now. It's it And it's like,

11:34

I see this little image

11:37

from t MC. It says Kobe Bryant eyes in helicopter

11:40

crash. I got twelve people

11:42

around me, so it's not like I was at home,

11:44

just you know, sitting there. It could be glued to it,

11:47

and I'm like, well, like like I I

11:49

didn't think it was real. And then

11:52

I got another one and another one and I

11:55

think you called it's

11:58

called I'm like, oh my god, this

12:00

is just happening. This is this is

12:02

real. Listen carefully to this

12:04

next part. There were children

12:07

playing in a pool in a house near Jeremy's

12:10

while I was recording him. In the background,

12:13

you can hear one of the kids crying. I

12:16

think of that every time I listen to

12:18

what Jeremy says. Next, I

12:21

broke down for a minute talking

12:23

to this guy del Greco Wilson and who I knew,

12:25

and this other guy came over. I didn't know who he

12:27

was, and I I put my head on

12:29

the shoulder and I started to a complete stranger. To

12:32

this day, I don't know who it was. Hey,

12:52

this is Mike Sealsky, host and writer of

12:54

I Am Kobe. This podcast

12:56

project came out of my work on a related book

12:59

called The Rise Kobe Bryant

13:01

and the Pursuit of Immortality. If

13:03

you want to explore other parts of Kobe's story,

13:06

check out The Rise. It's not just

13:08

a book version of the podcast. I

13:10

dive deeper into some of the topics covered

13:12

in this series, and even some that we don't

13:15

cover at all. Kobe's upbringing, his

13:17

family, his identity, his effect

13:19

on his friends and teammates, his journey

13:21

into the n b A, and his earliest days

13:24

with the Lakers. The Rise Kobe

13:26

Bryant and the Pursuit of Immortality

13:29

is out now. Just head over to the

13:31

Rise of Kobe book dot com

13:34

and you can buy it from any of your favorite

13:36

retailers. That's The Rise

13:39

of Kobe Book dot com.

13:41

Thanks. A

14:08

month after Kobe's death, a memorial

14:10

service was held for him and his daughter Gianna

14:13

in Los Angeles at Staples Center, the

14:15

Lakers home arena. Jeremy

14:18

and Greg Downer flew out to l A to attend

14:20

the service for both of them.

14:23

There was an odd feeling in being there. They

14:25

still couldn't believe Kobe was gone, still

14:28

couldn't reconcile and come to terms

14:30

with his death. They

14:33

woke up early on the morning of the service, and

14:35

the scene around the arena shocked

14:37

them back in the sorrow. I think you're

14:39

feeling a little bit like the Enturig

14:41

guys, you know, driving around l A and then all

14:44

of a sudden you get to the Forum and like, I

14:46

mean, the Staples Center was like, oh

14:48

my god. And you see all these people with Kobe stuff

14:50

and Kobe flags

14:53

and Laker flag and Kobe shirts

14:55

and a boy, this is

14:57

not gonna be easy. And U I'm

15:00

glad I was there. It's all I can say. I was

15:02

glad I was there. It was

15:05

surreal. It was just too hard to believe

15:09

inside, as one speaker after

15:12

another paid tribute to Kobe and Gianna,

15:15

his wife Vanessa, Shaquille

15:17

O'Neill, Michael Jordan's

15:19

when Kobe, a piece

15:21

of me died. And as I

15:23

look in this arena, across

15:26

the globe, a piece of you die, else

15:29

you wouldn't be here. Those

15:31

are the memories that we have to live

15:34

with, and we learn from

15:36

Greg Downer thought about the attribute that

15:38

to him always seemed to define

15:40

Kobe best. The

15:43

quality of the Kobe embodied was that, either

15:46

on a basketball court or in life, he

15:49

could not would not be stopped.

15:52

When he wanted something, he pursued

15:54

it until he got it Downer

15:56

believed that Kobe could not be defeated,

15:59

even by death, and he believed

16:01

it right up until he heard something

16:03

during the memorial service. You

16:05

know, I heard this round of applause, and

16:08

you know it was it was shock in the

16:10

corner. Somebody was entering the building,

16:13

and part of me was like, you

16:15

know, here he is, Like you know,

16:17

all of a sudden, he's alive or he

16:19

um he recovered

16:22

from the helicopter crash and Superman

16:25

is back. But I totally

16:27

agree with you that he

16:30

had an indestructible way

16:32

about him, and I

16:36

definitely need to feel the same way. As

16:48

the ceremony ended, Jeremy and Greg

16:50

caught a glimpse of Kobe's parents, Joe

16:52

and Pam, sitting near the front, a

16:55

massive people around them.

17:07

Neither Jeremy nor Greg had

17:09

seen or talked to Joe and Pam

17:11

since Kobe's death. In fact, neither

17:14

of them had seen or talked to them in years, but

17:16

they had a chance now and

17:19

they made their way towards I'm

17:22

Pam's like, Joe, it's Jeremy, Joe, it's Jeremy,

17:24

Joe. It's Jeremy. We journey saw

17:27

me like had a thick smile. I'm like, huh.

17:29

The hug was thirty seconds

17:31

long, and it's like just

17:34

it goes to show you, like like he just knows

17:37

his family, Like yeah,

17:39

I'm not Seaquille Emeial, but like

17:41

it's just somebody trust for twenty five years,

17:43

who had Kobe's best interest at heart.

17:46

We we knew love. Kobe and I

17:49

hadn't seen in a long time, and it was

17:51

especial and he told Greg the same thing. But

17:53

he just said, we made a kid for the world. And

17:56

I'm just like I had to. I had to wait till I left

17:58

the building, until her I could start to cry. I did. Pam

18:01

was telling both of us, don't cry, don't cry. I'm leaving,

18:03

don't cry, and it was this very

18:06

immergtional I didn't amount

18:08

Joe recently, and he did right back. He

18:12

was wishing us all well. It was very

18:14

sad. Of course, at

18:19

the beginning of this episode, I made

18:21

an assertion about the things we do when

18:23

someone famous dies, the people

18:25

who knew that person try to figure

18:27

out where they fit into his life. That's

18:30

all Kobe's friends and mentors from his

18:33

teenage years have been doing since

18:35

his death. They've been weighing

18:37

where they fit in Kobe's life and

18:39

where Kobe still fits in theirs

18:43

when they think of him. What comes to mind

18:45

first for Greg Downer, it's

18:47

Kobe's relationship with Brinn Downer, Greg's

18:50

daughter. They were close. Greg

18:52

has several photos of Kobe holding Brick

18:55

hugging her. I'm

18:58

glad that they got to me, and uh,

19:01

you know, I'm glad that Brand got to feel

19:03

greatness. And as Brand

19:05

has gotten older, she understands

19:08

a little bit more as to who Kobe was. And

19:10

sometimes we'll just watch some highlights

19:12

of him. And you know,

19:14

Kobe had four girls. I I only

19:16

have one. What makes

19:19

this really difficult is the loss of

19:21

Gianna and what what she

19:23

was and what she could have been. But I'm

19:26

so so thankful that that that

19:28

Brendan Kobe got to meet on several occasions.

19:34

For Mike Egan, Downer's assistant

19:36

coach on Lower Marion State

19:39

title team, one memory of

19:41

Kobe stands out. One

19:43

day that season, the coaches arranged

19:45

for a gentleman named Harry Middleton to

19:48

attend practice and meet the team.

19:50

Middleton had played for the Aces fifty

19:53

three years earlier. In that

19:56

was the last eight championship team for Longe

19:59

here r and

20:02

I just remember she's

20:05

Kobe being kind of in awe of the guy. This

20:07

is an older guy now white

20:09

hair. Um, you wouldn't

20:11

pick him out of the lineup as a former

20:13

captain of a state championship team. But

20:16

just the respect that Kobe showed for

20:18

him, um, and

20:21

the admiration he had, like as a guy

20:23

who um, you know, Kobe was such

20:25

a student of the game and he realized that, hey,

20:27

I might be the man now, but this guy

20:29

was the man in this school fifty

20:32

three years ago. That was really

20:34

really cool for Emery

20:36

Dabney. One anecdote doesn't

20:38

stand out about Kobe. His whole

20:41

attitude does, just like his

20:43

share will to succeed when

20:46

you've been close to that throughout your life, like you

20:48

you have no choice if to be successful,

20:51

I mean whatever success is. But

20:54

he saw a gold and if

20:56

you really think about him at a young age,

20:59

he was gonna do everything he could have to accomplish

21:01

that goal. Um, And

21:03

that's what I really think of when I think of him, Just like

21:05

him having no fear and

21:08

his relentless pursuits of

21:10

of a goal, That's what I think of, Like on every

21:12

time I think of that's what That's the first thing that comes

21:14

to my mind. Dabney's

21:26

perspective, I think, is a good summary

21:28

of the macro view of Kobe. It

21:30

wasn't just Dabney who saw him as incredibly

21:32

driven. Everyone who watched him play

21:35

basketball, or heard him talk or

21:37

read anything about him saw him the same

21:39

way. But for

21:41

Jeremy Treatment, the memories

21:44

of Kobe have been building up within him

21:46

for a long time, even

21:48

before the horrible events of January.

21:53

During that season,

21:55

when Jeremy was along for the ride to

21:57

the state championship victory with Kobe

22:00

and the Lower Marian Aces, he

22:02

compiled and narrated a highlight video

22:04

of the team's season. The soundtrack

22:07

he picked for the video was one that

22:09

every basketball fan knows one

22:12

shining moment, the song that CBS

22:14

always plays after the final

22:17

game of the n c a A men's

22:19

basketball turning down got Lower Marion prepared

22:21

for the season right away, with a game against

22:23

superpower Roman Catholic at Dreadful University.

22:26

The videos highlights don't just feature

22:28

Kobe. His teammates are hitting

22:30

three pointers and dropping in layouts, and

22:34

Greg Downer is barking instructions from

22:36

the side the line and

22:39

cheerleaders are screaming and shaking their

22:41

pomp pomps. But

22:43

there's a lot of Kobe in the video, alley

22:46

oops and breakaway dunks and breathtaking

22:49

plays. The kids at Jeremy's

22:51

camp see them fresh for the first time,

22:54

but Jeremy gets to relive his time with Kobe

22:57

over and over again, and

22:59

he relished is it.

23:06

It's funny like when I when I played one China Moment

23:08

every year camp. I'm like, this was like

23:11

special, special thing that happened in this one

23:13

special special time, And you know,

23:16

you could go seven years without anything even

23:18

close to that happening. And that's kind

23:20

of how I feel about this time, like it was. And

23:24

I look at my bucket list and look at things I've

23:26

done and didn't do or with part of or

23:28

experienced, and this is a one.

23:30

This is a major experience in my life.

23:44

If you spend any time with Jeremy,

23:46

it becomes obvious how much his time with

23:49

Kobe means to him and still

23:51

affects him. Yes, he

23:53

was there when Kobe got his start, but

23:55

Kobe was also there when Jeremy got

23:57

his start. Jeremy had

24:00

had a terrific career and his friendship

24:02

with Kobe really was his launching pad to

24:05

Jeremy. The two of them will always

24:08

be linked us in incredible.

24:10

It's like I've known somebody pretty

24:13

well that when they were on their rise, to

24:15

see them all the things they

24:17

said we're gonna happen, to see them actually happen. And how

24:19

many people can live up the hype. How many people are Lebron

24:22

James and Kobe Bryant, and how many people are like that?

24:24

There's very new. It's like you're

24:27

seeing a percosa spenom

24:30

live up to the up to his own life, looked

24:32

up to his own life. That's even harder than living

24:34

up to the other people's hype. I mean

24:37

there was part of me that felt like you know, I

24:39

was part of that, not a small part, but that was

24:41

it was part of it. And special.

24:44

I mean we all idolized people people who

24:47

were special. I mean we're all special,

24:49

but very This was

24:52

incredibly unique person. Yes

24:55

he was, and in the unique

24:57

story that was Kobe Bryant's life,

25:00

I think Jeremy Treatment holds a pretty special

25:02

place. He made these tapes

25:04

with Kobe, and more importantly,

25:07

he kept them, He dug

25:10

them up after all those years, and

25:12

he allowed them to be released into the

25:14

world. Now, the

25:17

people who knew Kobe so well back

25:19

then, who loved him so much,

25:22

can know how they fit into his life

25:24

because they and the world can hear through

25:27

Kobe's own voice how

25:29

they fit and how much they

25:31

meant to him. They can hear Kobe

25:33

teasing and joking around with Jeremy during

25:35

their interviews together, the easy comfort

25:38

they have with each other. Go

25:42

hi, everyone,

25:50

Okay, now how do you feel about

25:58

They can hear him acknowledge the impact at that Greg

26:00

Downer had on his life, the care

26:02

that his high school coach had for him. He knew

26:05

that eventually I would becoming

26:07

a great play in the NBA. He knows that I

26:09

would not have anything left. But right

26:13

now I have a word upon my hand, and

26:16

oh the NBA, you don't produced?

26:19

Do things been tappulate? And maybe

26:21

I'll lose it. I'll go to college, he knows

26:23

I don't. They'll have to learn abound writing.

26:26

Comes had a world up my head. That's

26:28

that's what this man's learned always

26:30

till I told him I really don't care about

26:32

that. They

26:34

can hear the way that Kobe spoke about his mom

26:37

and dad back when he still lived under

26:39

their roof, when he was just a teenager. Later

26:42

on, once he was well into his career

26:44

with the Lakers, Kobe and his parents

26:46

had a falling out over his decision to get

26:49

married so young, over their roles

26:51

in his life and his career and

26:53

his day to day existence. It

26:55

lingered for years. I

27:05

wanted desperately to speak to Joe

27:07

and Pam for my book and for this

27:09

series, especially Joe. He

27:12

was the person Kobe had looked up to the

27:14

most, and in a way, by

27:17

pushing his father away, Kobe

27:19

lost Joe before Joe lost

27:22

Kobe. But the

27:24

Bryan's declined to speak with me. As

27:26

far as I know, they haven't spoken publicly

27:29

at all since Kobe's death. I

27:31

completely understand and accept

27:34

that. I can only

27:36

imagine that Joe and Pam

27:38

and Shariah and Shaya and

27:41

Kobe, all of them presumed

27:43

that they would have more time, that

27:45

they would have an opportunity to reconcile,

27:48

to be the same close knit family that

27:51

they were when Kobe was still in high school.

27:54

I can't imagine the what ifs and

27:56

the might have been that have been running

27:58

through their minds, that run through the

28:00

minds of any parent who has

28:02

had to bury a child, especially

28:05

when I hear this. It's a clip

28:08

of Kobe talking about the idea

28:10

of getting into an argument or a conflict

28:12

with Joe and Pam, And

28:14

of all those hours Jeremy

28:17

spent interviewing Kobe, it's

28:19

the most heartbreaking thing in

28:21

any of these tapes. It's a little

28:23

simple to me. I grew up in Italy.

28:26

I have any very reliable my sisters. One

28:28

of my father and I know

28:31

from that he

28:33

built such a strong relationship, such

28:36

a great fristship. We came back over here and kind

28:38

of take it into play

28:41

a class. Me came back get along with the

28:43

boss, saying

28:45

I hate online Jim or

28:48

whatever. I'm right away from

28:50

home, like my parents can't wait to get out.

28:53

Um, I can't get

28:55

home. My mother, my

28:57

father is really enjoyed. The

29:00

family have said that

29:02

I have I know it's not gonna be it forever, and

29:05

that's why it's really important for my

29:08

mother and father to come out there they

29:10

were so I can enjoy

29:12

the COMFORTA gotta working out. You

29:15

gotta working out that that's your mother.

29:17

If I should bat into his world, his

29:19

world, how can you disrespect them?

29:22

There no whether you

29:24

have an argument or whatever, mother

29:27

and father or messing up or child's messing

29:29

up. But it's tough things out before,

29:31

it says now, and I

29:34

feel I feel out better as a person

29:37

knowing that that love is there that

29:39

I take. No one's

29:42

top of me the top of the bird beats. That's

29:45

the time. But I'm gonna enjoy them now while

29:48

I ask them to the fullest. Did

29:50

you never know what can happen? No

29:52

day anything? Um? No,

29:57

you never know what can happen. After

30:39

I talked to Jeremy on the day Kobe died,

30:42

I drove to a nearby elementary school, just

30:44

ten minutes away from my son Evans

30:47

basketball game. Tip off was We

30:51

stood by the court waiting for a game to

30:53

finish so ours could start, and

30:55

there was a buzz among the parents and the kids. Did

30:58

you hear can't believe it,

31:02

and his daughter Gianna too. There

31:04

were how many people in the helicopter. God,

31:07

it's so awful, so sad. The

31:10

news had been coming out in a trickle all day,

31:13

a drop of information here, a drop

31:16

there. Out on the court, there

31:18

was a kid nine years old, maybe ten,

31:21

wearing a green uniform tank top over

31:24

a white T shirt. And Evan

31:26

pointed out to me that the kid had a word

31:28

written in black marker on one

31:30

of his sleeves. Kobe

31:33

for men and women. He was the figure in sports

31:35

that made them want to pick up a basketball and

31:38

made the monomax sel in basketball with

31:40

his drive and his love for the game, and particularly

31:42

here in Los Angeles, that will never be forgotten.

31:45

Before my son's game began, my phone buzzed.

31:48

It was my editor at the Inquirer. I

31:50

was expecting the call, Hey, we need

31:52

you to write a Kobe column. I don't

31:55

know that there was a sports columnist in America who

31:57

wasn't writing a Kobe column. That day. After

32:04

Evans game, I got home and went up to

32:06

my office, opened up my laptop and

32:09

tried to put the breath of Kobe's life

32:11

and the shock of his death in some perspective

32:14

That's the cliche Columus and writers use

32:16

in moments like that, put it in perspective

32:20

as if such a thing were possible. So

32:23

I sat down at the keyboard and with a

32:25

deadline looming, I wrote a ninety

32:27

five word column and it sounded

32:30

like this. Kobe Bryant

32:32

dead. That can't be. Kobe

32:36

is strong. Kobe is always smiling

32:38

or scowling, and both faces showed

32:41

how strong he was. Kobe

32:43

can't die. Wasn't Lebron James

32:45

just passing him on the NBA's all time scoring

32:47

list at the Wells Fargo Center the other night, then

32:50

speaking with eloquence and depth about

32:53

Kobe's influence and effect on him. Wasn't

32:56

he on Jimmy Kimmel's late night show, Charming

32:58

and Smart, proud father talking

33:01

about his daughter Gianna's basketball career

33:04

just the other night, a helicopter

33:06

crash in the middle of a Sunday

33:09

and Gianna to what that

33:12

can't be? But there it is?

33:15

First on TMZ. Then one

33:17

confirmation coming after another, Kobe

33:20

Bryant gone at no,

33:24

no, no, So

33:27

now do me a favor, and

33:30

do yourself a favor, and do someone

33:32

you love a favor. If

33:34

you're reading this, Shut off your phone,

33:37

close your laptop, or put the paper

33:39

down. Go to your wife or

33:41

your husband, or your mother or

33:44

your father, or most of all,

33:46

your son or your daughter and

33:48

give them a hug, Call

33:51

them, visit them, tell

33:53

them you love them. Go to their basketball

33:56

games and their dance recitals, or

33:58

just stop by for a beer a laugh.

34:01

Turn off the trickle for a while, and

34:04

remember what the lasting lesson

34:06

of Kobe Bryant's life and death

34:09

should be. It

34:23

was difficult that day to consider Kobe

34:25

Bryant's life in full, to

34:27

dwell on anything other than the tragedy

34:29

of his death. He was gone, so

34:32

was his daughter. So we're seven

34:35

other people who have lives and

34:37

loves and achievements of their own. With

34:40

the nearly two years of distance from that day,

34:43

we can see more clearly, I think, what

34:45

we ought to take away from his life and his

34:48

career. We see the value

34:50

of passion and determination

34:52

and an unwavering belief in yourself.

34:56

We see his singular and blinkered focus

34:59

on becoming the back, and his

35:01

resolute willingness to work as hard

35:03

and as long as he needed to achieve

35:06

it. We see how the people

35:08

around him fostered and encouraged

35:10

that focus, and we see

35:12

the cost of that focus, the entitlement,

35:15

the self centeredness, and we

35:17

see that that cost can be steep.

35:21

We see most of all, the

35:23

everlasting effect that Kobe

35:25

Bryant had and still has on

35:28

the people who knew him. For

35:30

them, He'll never really be gone.

35:33

He'll always be there, his scowl,

35:36

his smile, his breathtaking

35:38

talent, his relentless desire

35:40

and tireless will, the

35:43

kid he had been, the man he

35:45

was becoming. Forever. It

35:48

has been absolutely beautiful. You guy. I can't believe

35:50

it's comes to an end. Um, you

35:53

guys will always be in my heart and

35:55

uh I sincerely, sincerely appreciated.

35:57

No words can describe how I feel about your guy, and

36:01

uh thank you. Thank you from the bottom

36:03

of my heart. God, I love

36:05

you guys, and uh I

36:08

love you guys and

36:13

my family, to my family,

36:15

my wife Vanessa, I thought it's not thali

36:17

a Gianna. Thank you guys for all

36:19

your sacrifice, you know, for all the hours

36:21

I's been in the gym working and training, and Vanessa,

36:24

you holding down the family the way that you have. I

36:27

can't there's no way I can thank you enough

36:29

for that. So, from the bottom of my

36:31

heart, thank you and uh, what

36:36

can I say? Mombow? I

36:48

Am Kobe is a production of the Version podcasts

36:50

in association with I Heart Radio. This

36:53

season is written and hosted by me Mike

36:55

sealskin GE's, produced by Jacob

36:58

Bronstein and directed by Mark Francis.

37:01

Story editing by Jacob Bronstein with editorial

37:03

direction from Scott Waxman, Editing,

37:06

mixing and sound design by Mark Francis.

37:09

Stephen Thompkins is our production assistant.

37:11

Our theme music is Create Yourself

37:14

by Grover Brown featuring Justin Starling.

37:17

Find Create Yourself wherever you stream music.

37:21

Music supervisor is Scott Velasquez

37:23

for Freesan Sinking. Executive

37:26

producers are Mark Francis and Scott Waxman.

37:29

Join the conversation about I Am Kobe

37:31

on social media on Twitter and Instagram.

37:34

It's at Diversion Pods thanks

37:37

to Orin Rosenbaum, Susan Cannavan and

37:39

Jeremy Treatment. The ibis

37:43

before the son. They don't want to stand when

37:45

I said to briand is fun. Never clack you out

37:47

even when my work is done. If they're trying to black

37:49

me, I might Heart someone throw the blood sweat

37:52

and say, as we parted, Sufi, stay tending

37:54

in, let it keep varius in. If they don't

37:56

believe in themselves, tablet to fit that

37:58

at Santa says, so set, I don't ask

38:00

my am. This the reason why my work

38:03

so damn different to the negatives.

38:05

I can't listen see me at the tip,

38:07

you can't listen where

38:10

I'm a vote to play like cash is

38:12

see I pay my dudes because of taxes.

38:14

Gotta work, I think and grind ahead of his time.

38:17

So I'm saying that they made you. Don't tell them you create

38:19

yourself the besh you finn

38:21

or watch us by this

38:24

by that time you gotta stay

38:26

clock then break clock break we create

38:28

ourselves. Watch

38:31

me question, watch me want to create

38:33

myself? Exack

38:35

climb, signs up and create

38:38

yourself. Say

38:40

nicey, ain't no hard to create

38:43

yourself. You gotta learn from the

38:45

great minds. But we ain't lying. Tell them

38:47

that any time this talent

38:49

wasn't given, it was made the future.

38:51

Any time I could change better, tell

38:54

them that I made it. Back home. As

38:56

I walked through the harts of the fan, I can't

38:58

from the valley of the shadow with death waiting

39:00

for us. Some spoons don't hold your breath. The same

39:02

town sat trains. But I did it with less. I

39:04

know one that the being, so there's nothing to guess.

39:07

Yeah, there's nothing to guess. It's

39:10

our times on the we up next. We

39:12

don't got any with rests. I did it with my soul

39:14

hands, and we never forgets my a. This

39:17

the reason why my work so damn different

39:19

to the negatives. I can't listen

39:22

see me at the time. You can't listen

39:24

for where rebuild, re

39:27

shape, give me your eye. You got to risk

39:29

take do it now. When I'm saying why,

39:32

waits im saying that they may you don't tell them.

39:34

You create yourself on the bench,

39:36

you finn watch us. Why

39:39

it's by that time. You gotta

39:41

steak clock then break clock break. We create

39:44

ourselves. Watch

39:46

me watch them create

39:48

myself. Shack

39:51

climb, signs up and create

39:53

yourself. Say

39:56

nice, ain't so hard create

39:58

yourself. Gotta line pretty

40:00

great minds, but we ain't like telling. Let's

40:02

getting time m

40:22

HM. Diversion

40:29

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