[ad_1]
LOS ANGELES – The Southern California sports academy, previously co-owned by Kobe Bryant, withdrew its nickname “Mamba” and changed its name nearly four months after the death of the basketball icon in a helicopter crash.
Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven other people were killed on January 26 when they were flying to a basketball tournament at the Mamba Sports Academy.
The Thousand Oaks-based facility said it would revert to its original Sports Academy name. It was founded in 2016. Bryant, who spent 20 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers and helped the franchise win five National Basketball Association (NBA) championships, joined in 2018.
The games were being played at the academy when news of Bryant’s death broke. The players stopped immediately and many people in the gym burst into tears when they were told that Bryant was aboard the crashed helicopter.
The academy is being considered as a base of operations for an NBA minor league program that will provide a year of preparation, on and off the court, for some elite players who chose to bypass college but are not yet eligible for the NBA draft.
Bryant is the only NBA player to have his team withdraw two numbers in his honor. He was selected last month for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. A ceremony is scheduled for the end of August, although it may be delayed until at least October due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Bryant’s production company, Granity Studios, has been active since his death. The latest children’s book released by Bryant’s company last month, “The Wizenard Series: Season One,” became his fifth book to reach No. 1 on the New York Times best-seller lists.
The helicopter crash is still under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
In February, Bryant’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, sued the property of pilot Ara Zobayan and the charter company that owned the helicopter, Island Express. She claimed that Zobayan did not “use ordinary care when piloting the subject aircraft” and alleged negligence.
On Friday, Zobayan’s brother Berge Zobayan said in a court filing that Kobe Bryant was aware of the risks of flying by helicopter and that his survivors are not entitled to damages for the pilot’s property, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Island Express responded in court documents Monday that they are not responsible for the damage and called the crash, among other things, “an act of God” and “an inevitable accident” that was beyond their control. The charter company also said the Bryants knew the risks and dangers of flying in a helicopter and “voluntarily assume [d] the risk of accident, injury and damage ”when they got on the helicopter.
Vanessa Bryant separately filed a claim, a precursor to a lawsuit, last week against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department after officers were charged with sharing unauthorized photos of the crash site. The claim was first reported by People; The investigation into the photos of the deputies was initially published by the Times. The sheriff declined to comment, citing the ongoing litigation.
Survivors of crash victims Sarah Chester and daughter Payton filed a complaint Monday against the helicopter company and the pilot’s property. Families of other victims previously filed lawsuits. AP
