Vanessa Bryant Shares Photos From Daughter Gianna's Middle School Jersey Retirement
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Vanessa Bryant took to Instagram Wednesday to share photos and videos of daughter Gianna's middle school jersey retirement after she and her father Kobe Bryant were tragically killed in a helicopter crash along with seven others.
Vanessa shared a photo of the framed number two jersey with a caption that read:
"My Gigi. I love you! I miss you. You've taught us all that no act of kindness is ever too small. Mommy is still and will ALWAYS be so proud of you mamacita."
Vanessa also shared video of Gianna's eight-grade team paying tribute to her daughter, sixth and seventh-grade girls who sang a song in her honor, and other speakers remember ing the 13-year-old.
Gianna, who went by Gigi, was with her father and seven others aboard a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter around 9:45 a.m. when it crashed in Calabasas amid foggy conditions. The group was on their way to Kobe's Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, where Kobe was set to coach her in a tournament game.
Also killed in the crash were John Altobelli, the head baseball coach at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, his wife Keri and their 13-year-old daughter Alyssa, one of Gianna's teammates. 45-year-old Sarah Chester and her 13-year-old daughter Payton — another teammate — were aboard as well, along with 38-year-old Christina Mauser, one of Bryant's assistant coaches, and pilot 50-year-old Ara Zobayan.