Woman’s Bikini Kobe Bryant Tribute Sparks Outrage
A woman’s bikini Kobe Bryant tribute sparked outrage this week.
On Sunday morning, Bryant and eight others died in a tragic helicopter crash in Los Angeles, California.
For the next 48 hours, many individuals across the world would go on to pay tribute to the NBA legend in various capacities.
One such attempt went very poorly on Tuesday.
As racer Alex Vinatzer took the lead in his event this week, a bikini-clad woman met him with a large banner honoring the memory of Bryant.
The woman was wearing nothing but a swimsuit and carrying a banner that read: “24 RIP KOBE.”
Woman’s tribute to Bryant upsets competitor at slalom https://t.co/BHLJFgmwsi pic.twitter.com/g2FGmm6T74
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 29, 2020
Her presence triggered the clock before Vinatzer could even cross the finish line, prompting officials to later reset his time. Instead of leading, he suddenly found himself .13 seconds before France racer Clement Noel.
Henrik Krisoffersen of Norway would go on to win the event with Vinatzer ultimately finishing sixth.
Many were outraged that a woman would disrespect Bryant’s memory by doing a tribute in the way that she ultimately opted to do it.
Bryant passed away at the age of 41. His 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, also perished in the crash, as did seven others who accompanied him on the flight.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
