‘American Tragedy': Country Stars Voice Sadness Following Kobe Bryant’s Death
In the wake of basketball great Kobe Bryant's unexpected death on Sunday (Jan. 26), country music stars are voicing their sorrow on social media. Many of the genre's young artists grew up fans of the 20-year NBA player for the Los Angeles Lakers, and many others are grieving for the family on the sudden loss of the 41-year-old father and his teenage daughter, Gianna, in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, Calif.
"I can't even put to words the loss for the Bryant Family," Mitchell Tenpenny tweeted after the news broke. "This is an American tragedy and hard pill to swallow. God has a plan even when it seems to make no sense. Prayers ..." he added.
Many, many other country stars offered tributes and condolences, including Keith Urban, Chase Rice, Jana Kramer and others. Flip through the photo gallery below to read messages from the country music world sent out to the Bryant family. Bryant and his daughter are survived by his wife and her mother, Vanessa, and children / siblings Natalia, Bianca and Capri.
Bryant spent his entire NBA career playing for the LA Lakers at Staples Center, where the 2020 Grammy Awards were taking place the afternoon of his helicopter crash, during which nine people in total died, per People. Recording Academy Interim CEO Harvey Mason Jr. called for a moment of silence at the beginning of the ceremony in Bryant's memory.