Following the death of Kobe and Gianna Bryant on Sunday, January 26, the Bryant family has issued a statement through their representative calling for privacy during this time.
Former NBA star Kobe, 41, and his daughter Gianna, who was 13, were traveling to Gianna's basketball game via helicopter with seven others when the helicopter crashed into the hills of Calabasas. There were no survivors.
Molly Carter, president of Kobe, Inc., expressed the family's "disappointment" with the media for writing stories about the tragedy using "unnamed sources and blind quotes," per KTLA. She added that the Bryant clan will speak when they find "appropriate."
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“To this point, no one has been authorized to speak on behalf of the family regarding any personal details surrounding Sunday’s tragedy, including stories related to the family’s previous air travel decisions," Carter said, possibly referring to reports that the Bryants made a decision never to travel on a helicopter together.
"We ask members of the media for respect and responsible judgment during this difficult time. These inaccurate reports only add unnecessary pain to a grieving family," she concluded.
Vanessa, who married Kobe in 2001 and is the mother to their daughters Bianka, Natalia, and Capri, spoke out for the first time following Kobe and Gianna's deaths on Instagram Wednesday.
"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," she wrote in the post.
"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."