Kobe Bryant's estranged parents will be welcomed back into the family 'to help each other heal', says friend
Kobe Bryant's estranged parents will be welcomed back into the fold so that the family can "heal each other" in the wake of his and daughter Gianna's death, a friend of the basketball legend has claimed.
Bryant, 41, Gianna, 13, and seven others died after a helicopter carrying them crashed into a mountainside in Calabasas, California, on January 26. Since then, Kobe's widow, Vanessa, as well as thousands of fans across the country and world have paid their tributes to him.
However, neither his mom, Pamela nor dad Joe have spoken out about their son's death, with their relationship with him strained because of a series of incidents over the past two decades. But family friend and basketball coach Wayne Slappy told the Sun that Vanessa was ready to let bygones be bygones and would work on their "long term issues" so they could be a family once again.
"Love still exists - they’re going to help each other heal," Slappy said. "I see the pain, I hear the pain, and it’s going to take time. But they’re the only ones who can heal each other like that. They’re the only ones who don’t want anything else from each other, except for each other’s love and respect." "So in time, it’s going to be okay," he added.
MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) previously reported that the tension between Kobe and his parents initially began when he was 21, which was when he met Vanessa. The pair had a whirlwind romance that culminated in them getting engaged to each other just six months after they started dating, and both Pamela and Joe are said to have disapproved of their relationship.
Neither parent showed up for their 2001 wedding and remained estranged with Kobe for over a year until he and Vanessa welcomed their first child, Natalia, into the world in January 2003.
The reconciliation lasted for over a decade until 2013 when Kobe had another fallout with them over memorabilia from his early years that Pamela intended to auction away for close to $500,000.
While he managed to get a court order to stop the auction, their relationship had seemingly been irreversibly damaged. In a 2016 ESPN interview, he admitted he had not spoken to both his parents since the incident and described their relationship as "s***."
Slappy, however, said he feels Kobe and Gianna's spirit will now be guiding his other three kids, Natalia, Bianka, and Capri, and their grandparents together.
"They’re not here physically, but they have another presence and it’s going to be all-good, that’s how I see it," he said. "So fret not, everybody, it’s going to be okay."