*Former president Barack Obama reflected on the deaths of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna during a speech at the NBA All-Star Weekend Newsmaker Brunch in Chicago on Saturday.
“That loss is something that I know many are still grappling with,” Obama told attendees, Deadline reports, adding, “particularly Kobe because he was with his daughter and those families, and those children.”
Kobe and Gianna were killed when the helicopter they were riding in slammed into a hillside in Calabasas, California on the morning on Jan. 26. The crash also claimed the lives of pilot Ara Zobayan; Orange Coast College head baseball coach John Altobelli; his wife Keri Altobelli; their 14-year-old daughter Alyssa Altobelli; Christina Mauser, a basketball coach at Harbor Day School in Newport Beach; 13-year-old Payton Chester, a basketball teammate of Gianna’s; and her mother, Sarah Chester, per Deadline.
The helicopter was transporting the group to Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks for a girls’ basketball game. Bryant and Mauser coached Gianna’s team.
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During his speech, Obama called that the deaths of the young girls “heartbreaking.”
“Those of us who have had the joy and privilege of being parents and taking kids to ballgames, and then rooting for our children, and seeing our dreams and hopes passed on to them. Nothing is more heartbreaking,” he said.
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer shared a clip of Obama’s speech, and he added the caption “It was a moving and emotional moment at the @nba All-Star Weekend Newsmaker Brunch when former President @barackobama spoke about Kobe Bryant.”
Peep the clip via the Instagram video embed above.
A public memorial for the victims is scheduled to take place at the Staples Center on Feb. 24.
Fans can register to purchase tickets via a ticketmaster verified fan site. Proceeds will go to the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation, which aims to continue Kobe and Gianna’s legacy in youth sports.
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