Kobe Bryant memorial: Vanessa shares Gianna tribute by soccer star Sydney Leroux, thanks her for honoring Gigi
Vanessa Bryant shared a picture of soccer star Sydney Leroux's tribute for her daughter Gianna on Instagram hours before the memorial service for her daughter and Kobe Bryant was set to take place in Los Angeles. The picture featured a tattoo of number 2, which is symbolic of Gianna's jersey number. This also happens to be Leroux's jersey number.
Along with the picture, Vanessa shared, "#2 (heart emoticon), Leroux. Thank you for honoring my Gigi. I love you @sydneyleroux." Lakers superstar Kobe and his daughter Gianna who died in a helicopter crash in January were laid to rest earlier this month. A public 'Celebration of Life' service is being held in honor of Mamba and Mambacita at the Los Angeles Staples Center on Monday, February 24.
The date of the memorial has been chosen because of the importance of the number to the Bryant family. It denotes the 20 years of Bryant's basketball career and the number of years he was with his wife Vanessa, Gianna's jersey number 2 and Kobe's jersey number 24.
On the day of the memorial, TMZ also reported that Vanessa sued the helicopter company for wrongful death. The report states that the lawsuit claims that Island Express (the company that owned the helicopter) was only allowed to fly under visual flight rules. The conditions the day of the crash were not conducive for such flying. It was also noted that the pilot was going 180 miles per hour in the heavy fog in a steep decline in the moments it crashed in Calabasas, California.
Along with Kobe and his daughter Gianna, seven others were also killed in the crash including the pilot. John Altobelli, a baseball coach at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa; his wife, Keri Altobelli; their daughter, Alyssa Altobelli; Christina Mauser, an assistant basketball coach at Kobe's Mamba Sports Academy; Payton Chester, who played on the team; her mother, Sarah Chester; and Ara Zobayan, the pilot were the other passengers on board who lost their lives.