A day after a jury awarded Vanessa Bryant $16 million in her invasion of privacy trial against Los Angeles County over photos taken at the scene of the 2020 helicopter crash that killed her husband, basketball star Kobe Bryant, and their 13-year-old daughter, her lawyer revealed she’ll be donating the proceeds to her Mamba and Mambacita Foundation.
“From the beginning, Vanessa Bryant has sought only accountability, but our legal system does not permit her to force better policies, more training or officer discipline. Those measures are the responsibility of the Sheriffs and Fire Departments — responsibilities that Mrs. Bryant’s efforts have exposed as woefully deficient, even giving amnesty to the wrongdoers, her lawyer wrote in a statement on Wednesday.
“Mrs. Bryant was courageous and never faltered, even when the County attempted to force her to submit to an involuntary psychiatric examination. She is deeply grateful to Ralph Mendez and Luella Weireter, the good Samaritans who brought to light the decades old practice of taking and sharing photos of accident and crime victims for no legitimate purpose,” the statement continued. “It is Mrs. Bryant’s hope that this important civil rights case will put to a stop this abhorrent and callous behavior.”
“Mrs. Bryant intends that proceeds from this judgment will go to the Mamba and Mambacita foundation to shine a light on Kobe and Gigi’s legacy,” it concluded.
Kobe Bryant and their daughter, Gianna, were headed to a basketball game at his Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks along with others connected to the basketball program on Jan. 26, 2020, when the helicopter they were traveling in crashed in Calabasas. All nine people on board were killed.
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