Vanessa Bryant will donate the $16 million settlement she received as part of her lawsuit over pictures of Kobe Bryant’s fatal helicopter crash to the foundation she leads in honor of Kobe Bryant and their late daughter, Gianna.
On Wednesday, Bryant was awarded $6 million to be paid by the Los Angeles County Fire Department and $10 million from the Los Angeles Country Sheriff’s Department, after she sued them both for emotional distress and invasion of privacy caused by the taking and sharing of photos of the victims of the January 2020 crash. On Thursday, her lawyer Luis Li told the Los Angeles Times that his client plans on giving that money to the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation. The nonprofit, founded in Kobe and Gianna’s memory, is dedicated to supporting underprivileged athletes and encouraging young people to get involved in athletics. Bryant’s co-plaintiff, Chris Chester, who lost his wife Sarah and 13-year-old daughter Payton in the tragic accident, was awarded $15 million in the settlement.
In a statement following this week’s verdict, Li told People, “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 sheriff’s and fire departments—responsibilities that Mrs. Bryant’s efforts have exposed as woefully deficient, even giving amnesty to the wrongdoers.” He added that Bryant has “never faltered, even when the county attempted to force her to submit to an involuntary psychiatric examination.” He also highlighted that his client was “deeply grateful” to the “Good Samaritans” Ralph Mendez and Luella Weireter, “who brought to light the decades-old practice of taking and sharing photos of accident and crime victims for no legitimate purpose. It is Mrs. Bryant’s hope that this important civil rights case will put to a stop this abhorrent and callous behavior.”
In her own statement, however, the lead outside counsel for LA County, Mira Hashmall, explained that, “While we disagree with the jury’s findings as to the county’s liability, we believe the monetary award shows that jurors didn’t believe the evidence supported the plaintiffs’ requests for $75 million for emotional distress. We will be discussing next steps with our client. Meanwhile, we hope the Bryant and Chester families continue to heal from their tragic loss.”
The verdict in this case was coincidentally given on Mamba Day, which is also known as Kobe Bryant Day in Los Angeles, as August 24 honors the legendary Los Angeles Lakers player’s two jersey numbers, 8 and 24. Bryant celebrated the fortuitous timing of her victory on Instagram, sharing a selfie of herself, Kobe, and Gianna all smiling broadly at the camera and writing in the caption, “All for you! I love you! JUSTICE for Kobe and Gigi! #Betonyourself #MambaDay 8•24•22 #MambaMentality,” adding a string of purple and yellow heart emojis.