“My Heart Aches”: Former Niner Colin Kaepernick Shared Words of Grace for Basketball Legend Kobe Bryant and Daughter Gigi Following Their Tragic Demise

During his career as a QB with the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL, Colin Kaepernick had many friends among sports personalities. Many have supported Kaepernick in his initiatives like the $1 million pledge. These have included Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Snoop Dogg, Meek Mill, and Serena Williams. Apart from them, however, there is another legend who was also quite close to the QB. Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant.

Bryant and Kaepernick had a few interactions, given that they played different sports. But both men seemed to have mutual respect for each other. Kaepernick, similar to many others, was therefore shocked but the events of January 2020.

The chopper crash in January 2020 led to the demise of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, along with his 13-year-old daughter and a host of others. Following the crash, an emotional and shocked Kaepernick took to Twitter to share words of grace to show his condolences. The QB wrote, “My heart aches for his wife, children& family” in their efforts to cope with the devastating event.

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He wrote how inspirational Bryant was to him saying, “I will remember Kobe as a basketball legend, a father& a man”. He further said that he wished that Bryant’s family could find some solace in the words of comfort being sent by friends and fans from all over the world.

From greeting at games to supporting his cause- How close was Bryant to Colin Kaepernick?

Kaepernick and Bryant had only a few public interactions, but fans could see their mutual admiration and respect in those few times. It showed in the way they spoke of each other in interviews, especially Bryant. It also helped that both were Nike athletes. The two stars had a brief interaction during the 2019 US Open, where they both went to watch Naomi Osaka play.

Not only was Bryant a vocal supporter of Kaepernick, but he also showed his support through his actions. In 2016, Kaepernick started his $1 million dollar pledge, wherein Koby donated a sum of $100,000 every month for 10 months to support minority communities. In the last month of the pledge, he had requested his celebrity friends to pitch in with $10,000 to any charity of their choice.

In response, Bryant pledged to donate $10,000 to Youth Service, Inc. It is an organization dedicated to providing shelter and other services to at-risk children and families in Philadelphia. Kaepernick tweeted about Bryant’s donation as well and thanked him.

With such camaraderie, it was natural for Kaepernick to pen down the heartfelt words on Kobe Bryant’s unexpected demise.

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