Local counseling service offers advice as millions mourn death of Kobe Bryant

Posted on January 27, 2020
Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on during a freethrow in the first half against the Houston Rockets at Staples Center on March 30, 2007 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)

 

By Neil Doyle

BLOOMINGTON – The country continues to mourn the loss of NBA legend Kobe Bryant and the eight others who died in a helicopter crash Sunday in Calabasas, California.

While millions of people never met him, the news of Bryant’s death rocketed around the sports and entertainment worlds, with many taking to Twitter to register their shock, disbelief and anguish.

To understand the mourning process, Integrity Counseling in Bloomington spoke with WJBC’s Marc Strauss.

Integrity’s Becky Hart said so many are hurt because celebrities like Bryant bring us together.

“When you go to a game or concert there are millions of people that are all together for the same reason.  Celebrities appear larger than life and we don’t think anything can happen to them, so when a tragedy strikes, it hits people really hard and it makes them reflect on their own life as well,” said Hart.

It’s okay to mourn, according to Hart, but if you’re becoming overwhelmed there are a few things you should do.

“Stop watching so much media coverage of the accident and the tragedy,” she said.  “What you can do is go online and find highlights of Bryant on the basketball court and focus on the positives.”

Bryant, 41, won five NBA titles during his 20-year career with the Lakers.

CNN reports while authorities try to determine what went wrong, investigators are struggling to find clues in difficult conditions.

“It’s a logistical nightmare in a sense because the crash site itself is not easily accessible,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said.
The effort to recover the victims’ bodies has started but could take days, given the terrain and the condition of the site, Los Angeles County Chief Medical Examiner Jonathan Lucas said.
Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]

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