Find Station
Ryan Seacrest

Ryan Seacrest

Ryan is quite simply one of the most influential, well-regarded, and well-known names in Hollywood. He is the quintessential Hollywood insider who...Full Bio

 

Governor Gavin Newsom Remembers Kobe Bryant: ‘An Extraordinary Father’

Fans everywhere are still reeling from the tragic and sudden death of Kobe Bryant. The Lakers legend, along with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven other passengers and colleagues close to the NBA star, were killed in a helicopter accident on Sunday, January 26.

“It wasn’t ‘Kobe Bryant: the celebrity,’” Newsom reflected with Ryan Seacrest on-air on Tuesday, January 28. “It was ‘Kobe Bryant: the dad.’ Who seems, by any objective measure, to be an extraordinary father.”

The Governor of California, who is dad to kids Dutch, Hunter and Brooklyn, added that respectively, it’s a reminder for us all.

“It’s a reminder of what really matters,” he continued. “At the end of the day — for all that celebrity; for all the pop circumstance of what really matters — at the end of one’s life and during the course of one’s life are those magical moments wth the people you love. Your friends and family. And that’s the real tragedy of this story. It’s not the loss of a great basketball icon, it’s the loss of what appears to be an extraordinary father and friend.”

Bryant and Gianna leave behind wife and mom, Vanessa, as well as daughters and siblings Natalia, Bianka and Capri.

The fellow passengers who were traveling to the Mamba Sports Academy for a basketball tournament with the athlete were also parents and siblings. Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife, Keri, and their daughter, Alyssa; assistant basketball coach Christina Mauser; Sarah Chester and her daughter Payton; and Kobe’s pilot, Ara Zobayan.

An investigation is underway as for what exactly caused the crash, but foggy weather may be to blame. The athlete regularly used helicopters as a means of travel to avoid traffic and in an attempt to spend more time with his family.

Our continued thoughts and prayers go out to the Bryant family as well as the families and friends of the fellow passengers.

(Photos: Getty Images)