After riots in Los Angeles, Vanessa Bryant appreciated that murals of Kobe and Gigi were saved amid protests for George Floyd. Vanessa—who lost her husband and her 13-year-old daughter in a helicopter crash on January 26—took to her Instagram Stories on Monday, June 1, to share photos of several murals of Kobe and Gigi that went untouched by rioters.
“Mural of Kobe and (Natalie) saved,” Vanessa wrote, referencing her a mural of her 17-year-old daughter and the late NBA player. Vanessa also shared another photo of Kobe and Gigi in a different part of Los Angeles, which she captioned, “Kobe and Gigi mural saved. L.A.”
Vanessa also reposted a fan’s Instagram of a Kobe mural in Los Angeles, which included a tweet that read: “They know Kobe if off limits.”
Vanessa’s Instagram Stories come after she posted an Instagram photo on May 30 of Kobe wearing a T-shirt that read “I can’t breathe” in 2014. The Los Angeles Lakers player wore the shirt to protest the murder of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man, who was killed by a New York City police officer who placed his arm around Garner’s neck, as he told the officer, “I can’t breathe.”
“My husband wore this shirt years ago and yet here we are again.💔#ICANTBREATHE (repost/photo credit unknown) plz tag 📷 Life is so fragile. Life is so unpredictable. Life is too short,” Vanessa wrote in the caption of her post. “Let’s share and embrace the beautiful qualities and similarities we all share as people. Drive out hate. Teach respect and love for all at home and school. Spread LOVE. Fight for change- register to VOTE. Do not use innocent lives lost as an excuse to loot. BE AN EXAMPLE OF THE CHANGE WE WANT TO SEE. #BLACKLIVESMATTER ❤️”
Vanessa’s photos of Kobe and Gigi’s murals came after hundreds of thousands of people marched in Los Angeles, as well as across the world, to protest the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed black man, who was murdered in Minneapolis by police officer, Derek Chauvin, on May 25. Floyd died after Chauvin placed his knee on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes, which led to asphyxiation and a lack of oxygen to the brain. Four days after Floyd’s death, Chauvin was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. The other three police officers who were present but did nothing to prevent Floyd’s death are still under investigation, as of May 29. All officers have been fired.