by By: Sarah Naciri
Sunday morning, the devastating passing of NBA legend, Kobe Bryant, impacted the nation. Many social media users have chosen to mourn his death by taking a break from social media. However, many fans are using the power that lies behind social media outlets, to encourage the modification of the NBA logo. Fans are requesting that the NBA honors Bryant’s life permanently; specifically, a fan that goes by the screen name of, Nick M., on change.org.
Nick M started an online petition to replace the famous NBA logo of Jerry West’s silhouette, to Kobe Bryant’s. He originally started the campaign having the goal of only 100 signatures.
“My expectations were to get a mere 100 signatures, I didn’t expect the amount of overwhelming support the amazing NBA and Kobe Bryant community has gave,” he commented.
As of Thursday morning, the petition has 2,950,372 signatures; however, the number continues to increase rapidly.
The original NBA logo of famous Laker player, Jerry West, was created in 1969 by designer, Alan Siegel. In a 2017 ESPN interview, West acknowledged that he was embarrassed by being the symbol of the NBA, saying, “If they would want to change it, I wish they would. In many ways I wish they would.”
Majority believe that due to the fact that West and Bryant had such a strong relationship, this would be a great time for the replacement. During the 1996 NBA draft, Bryant was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers; whose general manager at the time was Jerry West. With Bryant being only 17 years, West stepped in and became a father figure to the rookie.
During the afternoon on Sunday, West released some heartfelt words.
“I will love Kobe forever and always cherish the time that I spent with him. I watched him grow from an energetic kid into the man he became, making a difference in so many people’s life. He has left the world a better place,” West stated.
Jerry West was among various social media influencers that posted an emotional statement dedicated to the passing of Bryant.
Even though the majority of social media users are agreeing that the NBA logo should be changed, users have not decided what the logo will look like.
Social media influencers have posted various photos of Bryant in front of the famous NBA rectangle. Well-known influencers such as, Snoop Dogg, Justin Bieber, Meek Mill and Usher have posted their ideal representations on Instagram. Twitter user, JWepp, tweeted a photo Monday morning encapsulating four templates for the new NBA logo.
Hi Sarah,
Great write up! I think the petition to change the NBA logo is very interesting considering it took this tragedy to start the conversation. Personally, I think it’s too soon to make any major changes such as this, but maybe in a couple years.
Thanks!
I am from Los Angeles and my family is passionate about all the sports teams in our area. We are big Lakers and Dodgers fans, specifically. My family was very shaken up about Kobe’s passing; Kobe was a giant part of my childhood. I know that many of my friends are still hung up over Nipsey Hussle’s passing (Nipsey grew up near my area and went to my high school), so to add Kobe’s on top is a lot. Los Angeles has the stereotype of being all “influencers,” but it is much more than that–it is a city of regular people who are proud of where they come from and are not afraid to show it. I know that the city and its residents will keep their legacies alive, and we will never forget what they gave back to our hometown. Rest easy, Nipsey and Kobe.
Kobe Bryant absolutely left an incredible legacy as a basketball player but I had an interesting discussion with my sports business teacher talking about the incident in Colorado that hasn’t been talked about as much and the affect that has on his legacy. Growing up in Colorado, my brother and I were never really fans of Kobe because of everything that went down. Even until recently I really didn’t have an opinion on him. After his untimely death, ESPN interviewed the prosecutor that was handed Kobe’s case. It brought back a lot of memories and also made me wonder how the people affected by the incident were feeling. It has to be an interesting feeling to have such a negative memory of him but also know who he is and how horrible this all is. Kobe leaves an impact on a sport that will miss him and an impact on society that strived to be like him, but I also don’t think people should forget the small blemish on his record. It is important to remember that he wasn’t perfect but he worked hard to change and that is what matters.
Hi Sarah,
I really liked this post about Kobe Bryant. I thought it was interesting to see so many people take to social media to express their feelings towards the loss of someone so influential as Kobe. I also thought that the idea of changing the NBA logo was so powerful and truly showed how much people admired him to the point that they would want to change something like the logo. Its interesting that they denied the idea of changing it, maybe because the incident was too soon and they did not want to make any drastic changes too soon. They may also need to take into consideration the family, and the impact it would make on the NBA by making the logo so sentimental and emotional. Great post!
I, too, feel that changing to the NBA logo to incorporate Kobe Bryant would be a great way of honoring the late basketball legend. However, the incident is still very fresh and many are still grieving. While this action is a great idea, such a drastic change should be taken in due time.
I think changing the NBA logo to honor and incorporate Kobe Bryant would be a good way of honoring him and his legacy. However I think that it needs to be thoroughly thought out and not acted on too quickly. Making decisions when you are grieving may not be the smartest. I do however know that the NBA will do something to honor him forever and the public will support it.
While Kobe’s legacy may never be quantified by words or deeds of any kind, I do applaud and back the idea to embody him into anything that involved the NBA, including the logo change. Kobe Bean Bryant dedicated 20 years of his life to bringing joy to the lives of people globally with the game of basketball, from LA to Dubai and the Philippines. The game of basketball will never be the same without Kobe and we’ll miss him forever.
I think Kobe’s death hit me hard not just because I grew up watching him play, but because, unlike with other major celebrity deaths, we’ve reached an evolution of social media where news travels faster than ever before. I remember seeing tweets about this hours before the Bryant family was even informed or TMZ had broken the news. While that obviously sucks, the benefit of social media is how many people were able to share their thoughts, stories, and positivity to heal together. This includes celebration and memorial of his life, like with this logo change idea. I think it would be great to see this happen in a season or two.