CHEGE: In Kobe Bryant, fathers of girls have found a shining

In Summary

• Although Kobe was a legend on the court, he was, like all of us, a man with his own share of shortcomings, most of which have been well documented.
• But if we are to learn anything from Kobe’s life and death, it is not just his deep-seated dedication to his family, but the fact that he was perhaps the most understated feminist.
• His support and dedication to his daughter’s budding career and success was beyond an ill-advised self-preservation strategy.

I am certain I am not the only one who is yet to come to terms with the sudden, shocking death of American professional basketballer Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna.

PASSION

Like millions who are mourning Kobe, I have the slightest interest — or knowledge — of the game. But Kobe was more than a basketball icon; he symbolised more than could be captured on the court, and this is why basketball fans and non-fans like me feel the impact of his death.

Kobe, like many iconic sportsmen, started off as an ambitious teenager driven by a consuming zeal to become great. So intense was his passion to succeed that he was one of the few basketballers to leave high school and go straight into the NBA, making a name for himself among the greats in his early twenties.

He went on to have an illustrious career until he retired at the age of 37 and took up a new job that he loved more than anything else — being a full-time dad and running a movie production house that produced a short film, Dear Basketball, that won an Oscar in 2018.

Beyond the court and the business empire he built, Kobe was the husband of Vanessa and a doting father of Natalia, Gianna, Bianca and Little Capri.

LEGACY

Part of his duties as a full-time dad was to train Gianna’s local basketball team after “Gigi” had taken a special liking for basketball. She was on her path to becoming a star, standing away from her father’s spectacular legacy.

It was this love and passion for the game that made father and daughter close, and the countless photos and videos on the internet of the dynamic duo squaring it out on the court are proof of a deep and special father-daughter relationship.

In Kobe’s world, the question of his successor often came up, with many imploring the father of four girls to at least “try for a son”, who would carry on his legacy.

For a man of Kobe’s stature and talent, it is only natural that people around him assumed that he should consider an heir to his throne on the court — preferably male — who would keep the flame burning.

But Kobe had other plans. He was a proud father of daughters, and when Gianna, his second-born, showed signs of greatness on the court, he dutifully took on the role of her coach and mentor. So at 13, Gianna, by her father’s admission, was a far much greater player than he was at that age. It was those father-daughter training sessions and tender moments on the court that have captured the hearts of billions across the world. Kobe was wed to his daughter’s dream and he gave it his all until the last moment of their young lives.

SHORTCOMINGS

The two were among nine people who died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, on their way to play basketball at the Mamba Basketball Academy owned by Kobe.

Although Kobe was a legend on the court, he was, like all of us, a man with his own share of shortcomings, most of which have been well documented.

But if we are to learn anything from Kobe’s life and death, it is not just his deep-seated dedication to his family, but the fact that he was perhaps the most understated feminist. His support and dedication to his daughter’s budding career and success was beyond an ill-advised self-preservation strategy, but a father’s boundless belief in his daughter’s ability to succeed in a career that was until recently a preserve of men. That he not only taught his daughter basketball strategy, but that gender should not and must never stand in the way of her ambitions.

LESSON

In her short life, Gianna learnt a lesson that many take a lifetime to realise. That nothing — not even gender — can stand in the way of your greatness. That, to me, is a life well lived for Gianna, even at 13.

Ms Chege is the director of the Innovation Centre at the Aga Khan University’s Graduate School of Media and Communications; njokichegefeedback@gmail.com. The views expressed here are the writer’s own