Vennese Bryant has made her first public statement in wake of the helicopter crash that claimed the life of her husband kobe Bryant, one of their daughters and seven others.
Vanessa took to Instagram on Wednesday to thank everyone for the global outpour of support. The widow changed her Instagram profile picture to that of Kobe Bryant and their daughter Gianna on a basket court.
She also announced the formation of a MambaOnThree Fund to help support the other families that were affected by the crash.
Her statement reads:
My girls and I want to thank the millions of people who’ve shown support and love during this horrific time. Thank you for all the prayers. We definitely need them. We are completely devastated by the sudden loss of my adoring husband, Kobe — the amazing father of our children; and my beautiful, sweet Gianna — a loving, thoughtful, and wonderful daughter, and amazing sister to Natalia, Bianka, and Capri. We are also devastated for the families who lost their loved ones on Sunday, and we share in their grief intimately. There aren’t enough words to describe our pain right now. I take comfort in knowing that Kobe and Gigi both knew that they were so deeply loved. We were so incredibly blessed to have them in our lives. I wish they were here with us forever. They were our beautiful blessings taken from us too soon. I’m not sure what our lives hold beyond today, and it’s impossible to imagine life without them. But we wake up each day, trying to keep pushing because Kobe, and our baby girl, Gigi, are shining on us to light the way. Our love for them is endless and that’s to say, immeasurable. I just wish I could hug them, kiss them and bless them. Have them here with us, forever. Thank you for sharing your joy, your grief and your support with us. Weask that you grant us the respect and privacy we will need to navigate this new reality. To honor our Team Mamba family, the Mamba Sports Foundation has set up the MambaOnThree Fund to help support the other families affected by this tragedy. To donate, please go to MambaOnThree.org. To further Kobe and Gianna’s legacy in youth sports, please visit MambaSportsFoundation.org. Thank you so much for lifting us up in your prayers, and for loving Kobe, Gigi, Natalia, Bianka, Capri and me.
Vanessa Bryant asked for a continued respect of her family’s privacy as they begin to navigate this new reality.
Kobe and Gianna were two of the nine victims of Sunday’s helicopter crash that killed seven others, including an Orange Coast College baseball coach, John Altobelli, his wife and their 13-year-old daughter, who played on the same basketball team with Gianna.
They were on their way to the Mamba Academy for a basketball practice when the crash occurred.
Photo Credit: Instagram
