It is an expression that stuck, with pleasure, to Kobe Bryant since he retired in 2016. Father of four daughters, the former Lakers player was a “Girl Dad”, a sort of “daddy hen” but with the specificity of being one with only little girls. It is this facet of his personality and his being that the second statue presented on the forecourt of the Crypto.com Arena on Friday honors.
In fact, we see Kobe Bryant kissing his daughter Gianna, with angel wings behind them. A reference – assumed with the clothes – to the last visit of the former Los Angeles guard to the Lakers' room, on December 29, 2019, a few weeks before his death.
There is a plaque in front of the statue that bears a quote from Kobe Bryant, who has been called the “Most Valuable Girl Dad”: “Gianna is a monster. She’s better than I was at her age. She’s got it. The girls are amazing. I would love to have five more girls if I could. I’m a doting father to them.”
“Let’s build the next generation of athletes. That’s what Gigi and Kobe would like us to do.”
Also on this plaque, Gianna Bryant is described as a “icon who can inspire girls in sport” when his father is seen as “a proud supporter of women in sport”This is the point Vanessa Bryant wanted to return to during the private ceremony.
“We were faced with a harsh reality: Even if Gianna was or could be a great player, even if her father had taught her how to play, even if she played exactly like Kobe, she would not have had the same advantages and opportunities as her father and young men, because she is a girl. That’s when the challenge of changing the perception of women’s sports began in our household.”, comment Kobe's widow, who was a great defender of the WNBA.
Vanessa Bryant therefore gives advice to all fathers. “I ask you: give young girls time, support too. They must be told that they can do everything that men can do, even surpass them. Because they can and they will. […] Sometimes, all you need is one person to believe in you. Take the girls to see women play sports, buy tickets to the games if you can. Watch women's games on TV, with your daughters, nieces, cousins. If young girls can watch women, they will realize their potential, that their ambitions are not just dreams but realities. Let's build the next generation of athletes. That's what Gigi and Kobe would like us to do.”
