Grieving Fans Left More Than 1,300 Basketballs Outside The Staples Center Honoring Kobe Bryant

Feb 04, 2020 by apost team

It's been a week since the tragic helicopter crash that took the life of several people, including Kobe Bryant and his daughter. Many people have left tribute items outside the Staples Center in L.A., but these now have to go, as the Center needs the space back.

During the week following the tragic crash, many fans left items to show their grief and sympathy: from flowers to stuffed animals to shirts and caps. Fans even wrote self-made posters and left them as a tribute to the beloved sports star. 

In about 12 hours the Staples Center’s staff was able to clean up the Kobe Bryant memorial. In total, they counted 1,353 basketballs, 14 big banners, 25,000 candles, 5,000 handwritten messages, 500 stuffed animals and more than 350 pairs of shoes, as Staples Center president Lee Zeidman revealed on Twitter.

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But instead of throwing everything away, all items will be sent to Kobe’s wife, Vanessa, and his three surviving daughters. As Lee Zeidman told The Los Angeles Times, Vanessa Bryant had actually reached out to Staples Center saying “Our family would like the items out there.”

Therefore the Center will be cataloging every item that was left, putting everything into specially made containers and shipping it to the Bryant family. Nothing will be left behind. Hopefully, the items will give the Bryant family some closure. 

During the cleanup, the Staples Center’s staff also filled a full 40-yard roll off trash bin with flowers that they won’t let go to waste either. Lee Zeidman, the Center's president, mentioned in an interview with The Los Angeles Times that: 

“So we’re going to compost all those flowers out there and spread them around the plants in and around L.A. Live and in and around Staples Center,” Zeidman said. “So that means that all those fans that took the time to buy the flowers and plants and brought them down there, some of that will still be around the site."

What do you think about the way those responsible at Staples Center handled this situation? Let us know in the comments and be sure to pass this article along to all Kobe Bryant fans out there.