Snoop Dogg, Justin Bieber, Meek Mill Among Those Supporting Fans' Petition To Make Kobe Bryant New NBA Logo
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — In the aftermath of the death of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, fans and players have been offering their tributes and memories of Bryant. One Lakers fan has gone a step further, starting a petition on Change.org to make Kobe the new logo for the NBA.
The petition, started by user Nick M. in the hours after the news of Bryant's death broke on Sunday, has climbed to over 2.1 million online signatures as of Tuesday afternoon. According to Change.org, it is the first petition on the site in 2020 to reach over 1 million signatures.
Making the proposal more interesting is the fact that the current silhouette is of another Lakers legend, Basketball Hall of Famer Jerry West.
West said in an interview on ESPN's "The Jump" in 2017 that he wished the league would change the logo. At the time, West said, "It's flattering. But, also, if I were the NBA I would be embarrassed about it. I really would. I don't like to do anything to call attention to myself and when people say that, that's just not who I am period. If they would want to change it, I wish they would."
On Sunday, an emotional West -- who was the general manager of the Lakers in 1996 and was instrumental in bringing Kobe to L.A. -- told CBS2 that he felt like he had "lost a son."
"I really felt like a surrogate father to him…this has been one of the most horrible days of our life," West said.
While the petition has largely been circulating among fans of the late Bryant. Some former NBA players have lent their voices to the movement as well. NBA veteran Jamal Crawford, who battled Kobe many times through the years as a member of the Clippers, tweeted on Sunday night his thoughts on the idea.
Kobe has to be the new NBA logo.....
— ???? Jamal Crawford (@JCrossover) January 27, 2020
The same could be said of Austin Daye, a six-year veteran of the league who last played with the Spurs & Hawks in 2014-15. When TMZ caught up with former Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce and asked him about Crawford's suggestion, Pierce said he was "with that too." In the NFL, New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman also lent his support to the idea.
The movement has also crossed over to the entertainment world where Snoop Dogg, Justin Bieber and Meek Mill have all called for Bryant to be the new silhouette representing the league in its logo.
The petition seems to be gaining momentum. The NBA is continuing to figure out how it will honor the late Bryant, though Hall of Fame chairman Jerry Colangelo did say Monday that he expects Bryant to be posthumously elected to the Hall this summer.