The late Kobe Bryant was one of the greatest basketball players and athletes of all time, and his accomplishments speak for themselves. But in time, he also became a cultural icon, and it wasn’t just because of what he did on the court.
Bryant got involved with plenty of worthwhile causes to help others. He was a big advocate for women’s basketball, especially the WNBA, and he looked to alleviate the homelessness epidemic in the Los Angeles area.
The Hall of Famer also spent some of his finite time with children who had serious illnesses. Over a year before his tragic death, he had a very heartwarming encounter with a very young child who was in need.
Bryson Thompson, who was then six years old, had epilepsy and was given assistance from Jack’s Helping Hand, which supplied him and his family with funds and equipment. His family was so grateful that it collected signed merch from pro athletes to have them auctioned off for the organization.
While on the daytime talk show “The View,” the Thompson family was given autographed jerseys and helmets from NBA and NFL stars to auction off. Then Bryant came onto the set to surprise it with autographed jerseys of his own.
Co-host Whoopi Goldberg asked Bryant why he showed up, and he gave an extremely thoughtful and unselfish answer.
“We all have a … responsibility to each other, to help one another,” Bryant said. “If you have the opportunity to do that, it’s our responsibility as people to help one another. … It’s [as] simple as that.”
Charitable acts like this from titans such as Bryant enrich our society and give hope to even those who seem very helpless.