The world was rocked on Sunday (Jan 26) when news broke that a helicopter crash had killed basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven other people including her teammates, their parents, and Kobe’s assistant coach for the young girls’ team.
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The flight was headed to a basketball game in Thousand Oaks, CA when it crashed. According to The Los Angeles Times, a thick fog covered the area and much of the rest of Southern California during the morning hours.
Tributes began pouring in from fans, friends, teammates, and even people who had never met any of the victims on board. One person who gave a moving tribute was Duck Dynasty’s Willie Robertson.
On January 26, he shared a black and white photo of Kobe and his daughter with the caption, “I know people died today all over the world. I know most were not famous. But few or none had their 13 year old daughter with them. 41 is too young, 13 is tragic. I am so saddened. Can’t imagine what family is going through.”
He continued, “I pray they make it to tomorrow and then the next day. And all the others on that flight, I pray for you. I’m so sorry.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/B7zjuE0An4E/
Robertson, whose Instagram posts come few and far between, also shared a subtle tribute to the man they call “Mamba” on Wednesday (Jan 29). He shared an older photo with him and his two daughters, Sadie and Bella, and said, “The manliest thing you can ever do, is being the best #Girldad.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/B760rEMA00w/
The hashtag “#GirlDad” began trending on social media after ESPN’s Elle Duncan told a personal story about the one time she ever met Kobe Bryant. At the time, she was 8 months pregnant with a little girl. Kobe, being a father of three girls at the time, told her how blessed she would be with a daughter.
“I would have five more girls. I’m a girl dad,” he told her.
In tears, Duncan said to the camera, “I suppose the only small source of comfort for me is knowing that he died doing what he loved the most. Being a dad. Being a girl dad.”
See other #GirlDad’s below.
#girldad pic.twitter.com/UtVjPLE17A
— Mark Ingram II (@markingramII) January 28, 2020
I am proud and honored to be a #GirlDad!❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/y6oe5VAIhz
— Michael Strahan (@michaelstrahan) January 29, 2020
My beautiful babygirl!! #girldad pic.twitter.com/Mfopl9v2vb
— Darius Shaquille Leonard (@dsleon45) January 29, 2020
Definitely something special about being a #GirlDad pic.twitter.com/Gqa2B7xs63
— Eric Sogard (@EricSogard) January 29, 2020
Watch Duncan’s emotional story below.