Column: January 26th, 2020. The day the black mamba became immortal

By: Aaron Robinson

It was a Sunday Afternoon. I was going through my normal Sunday routine, being that we were in between two gamedays. For those of you who don’t know, the MEAC schedules all of their conference games on Saturdays and Mondays.

So on this particular Sunday, I was in the training room getting some rehab. I was accompanied by a few of my teammates, and a few players on the girls basketball team who were also getting treatment, as they too were in between games.

I was sitting on the ground foam rolling, when my phone began to vibrate over and over again. Being that I am a pretty social person, this wasn't too out of the ordinary for me.

But then I received a FaceTime call. And it was from a friend that I receive facetime calls from pretty often, but normally when this person calls, it is something that is rather urgent.

So I answered.

What happened next was something that I will never forget as long as I live.

My friend said, “Kobe died.” And now, in my head, I start thinking who the heck do I know named Kobe?

The first thing that comes to mind is my teammate, Koby Thomas, and I think to myself, no it can’t be him because i’m here with him at school. So I keep thinking, and in my head I begin to draw blanks because I don’t know of anyone named Kobe that we both know so I begin to get confused.

So I said “Kobe who?”

I just knew she wasn’t talking about Kobe Bryant, the black mamba, there was just no way.

But then she says, “Kobe Bryant died! The basketball player! Kobe!”

And I thought to myself no way, there was just no way.

So I put my friend on pause, and I open up my text messages, while she scrolls down her twitter feed to look for more verification.

At this point in time, the only reports that had come out were the TMZ reports, and you began to see other small media outlets distribute that report as well.

I immediately went to my messages where I saw both individual text messages as well as messages in my various group chats and they were all asking the same questions.

Is this really true?

Did Kobe Really die?

Me and my friend hung up the phone as we both began to look for more verification on the subject.

As time went on, the reports began to flood in, everyone’s worst nightmare was indeed a reality. Kobe Bryant had died in a helicopter crash.

I immediately left the training room. I didn’t say anything to anyone, I just walked into an empty hallway outside. I began to sob. I couldn’t control my emotions, and I didn’t know what to think. I was completely numb.

My childhood idol was gone.

Anyone that knew me, knew that I was a Kobe fan to say the least. I am a Lakers fan that was born and raised in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, but I rooted for the Lakers solely because of Kobe Bryant. He was the GOAT in my opinion. And I was on the record saying this on more than one occasion. Whether it be on the set of Bobcat Breakdown with my brother (which I have attached below, fast forward to the 26 minute mark to hear the debate), on my twitter account, or if I was just having a casual conversation amongst my friends. Kobe was my GOAT.

But for me, his greatness stretched father than just basketball. It was his mentality, it was his work ethic, it was his intelligence. He truly was everything that you could strive to be as an athlete.

His physical greatness speaks for itself, I don't need to read off his career achievements to illustrate that. But it was his intellect and his drive that truly made him special. Kobe was one of those people that could have succeeded in anything in life that he put his mind to.

Nothing illustrates this more than him winning an Oscar, something that some people work their whole lives to achieve, Kobe earned it in just his second year post retirement. Kobe won the Academy Award for his short film “Dear Basketball” that was created in 2016 as Bryant announced his retirement from the NBA.

Another trophy in the already crowded, trophy case of Kobe Bean Bryant.

But despite all of these awards, if you asked Kobe Bryant what his greatest accomplishment was, my money would be that his answer would not be anything that was previously mentioned. Not the Championships, not the Oscar, not the MVP, not any of it. It would be that he got the opportunity to be a father. He got the opportunity to raise four beautiful daughters, one of which even took up the game that he loved. He got to teach her day in and day out, and train her to one day carry on his mamba legacy.

A mural of the Kobe Bryant with his daughter Gigi on his shoulders. (Courtesy of Janine Robinson)

As we would learn that day, his daughter, Gianna Bryant, the one who most took after the basketball legend, also died in that crash alongside her father. Many people would say that the last of Kobe Bryant’s legacy died with him in that crash, which was his daughter Gianna.

But those who really understand Kobe Bryant and his legacy know that this is not the case.

The legacy of Kobe Bryant will live on forever. Not only through his three surviving daughters, as well as his wife, but also through all of the lessons that he left us with.

The Mamba Mentality.

Arguably the most famous Kobe Bryant quote, or at least the one that tells his story the best reads, “The most important thing is to try and inspire people, so that they can be great in whatever they want to do.”

Kobe Brytant without a doubt did just that and so much more. He inspired myself as well as millions of other people to chase your dreams. Chase them relentlessly and don’t let anything or anyone get in your way.

He taught us that if you want to accomplish extraordinary things, you must be willing to put in an extraordinary amount of work. You must do things that no one else is doing. Like waking up at 4am to get a jumpstart on your work.

Or, as Jay Williams chronicled, starting early and staying later than your competition, just for the purpose of sending a message that you will never be outworked.

It is this mentality that made him the Mamba. It is this mentality that made him a legend. And it is this mentality that will live on in the millions of people that loved, him and even those who didn’t.

My younger brother, Adam Hopkins, texted me this on the day that Kobe passed and he said, “Hero’s come and hero’s go, but it’s the impact they leave us with that lasts forever.”

To Kobe Bryant, your legacy will truly live on forever. Through me and through the millions of others whom you inspired each and every day.

Sincerely, Aaron Robinson.