Tom Brady has been struggling to cope with the deaths of Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, the NFL star wrote in an Instagram post, saying the tragedy has kept him up at night.
Brady, 42, had much in common with Bryant, who was 41 when he was killed along with Gianna and seven others in last month’s helicopter crash in southern California.
Obviously both enjoyed rare levels of success as professional athletes, but the soon-to-be free agent quarterback also related to Bryant as a father and as a man who was striving to improve himself.
Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Atlanta Hawks at Staples Center on November 17
Tom Brady carries his daughter Vivian Lake Brady at the end of Super Bowl LIII in 2019
‘I have been deeply affected by the passing of Kobe, Gigi and the others in that tragic flight weeks ago,’ Brady wrote in a post that featured a picture of Bryant kissing Gianna as they sat courtside at a Lakers game.
‘Since then, I’ve witnessed the well deserved (sic) outpouring of love and support for the families that had so much left to give, and it’s helped me reflect and gain perspective,’ he continued. ‘I know that love and peace and joy will always endure. And in this tragedy, I have learned so much.
‘Why has this touched me in the way it did? Why has it kept me up at night, and brought me so many tears?’
Brady stressed Bryant’s success on the court, but put those accomplishments in perspective, explaining that the Lakers legend played basketball in the same way he lived his life.
‘In Kobe, we were able to witness the man in the arena. For many of us, sports show what we are made of, they define our personalities and emotions. We cannot hide from the good or the bad, from the wins or the losses… the joy and despair, the happiness and the pain.
‘What you see is what it is, we aren’t actors, We have found a real life stage where we become vulnerable to the world and are judged bases (sic) on the outcome of each performance. And we care deeply about what we do.
‘For some, these days are the pinnacle in their life, and there’s nothing wrong with that but it’s clear to me, for Kobe, that was how he lived his life in every way. In his second chapter, you saw even more.
Tom Brady wrote a heartfelt tribute to Kobe Bryant in a recent Instagram post
‘You saw his excitement for life, and for achieving in areas only he thought possible. He became more of an entrepreneur, media mogul, father, husband and mentor among other roles.
‘And he didn’t stop with himself,’ Brady continued. ‘Kobe didn’t care whether you were a man or woman, boy or girl, black or white, rich or poor, ordinary or extraordinary, he wanted to help you become the best you could be.
‘His mere presence had an effect on everybody he was around. He had the energy to recognize in others what they could not recognize in themselves.’
Brady and Bryant were not known to spend considerable amounts of time together, although pictures of the two of them do exist.
However, their lives had many parallels such as children (four for Bryant, three for Brady) and titles (Bryant had five to Brady’s six).
Brady won his first championship at the end of the 2001 NFL season, a year after Bryant won his first with the Lakers.
Both players would go on to win two more titles before facing major setbacks (Brady suffered a significant knee injury in 2008 while Bryant faced his own injuries and also settled a sexual assault claim against him in 2004).
Brady and Bryant were not known to spend considerable amounts of time together, although pictures of the two of them do exist, like this shot from the 2010 NBA Finals
With new supporting casts, Brady captured three more titles while Bryant won another pair with the Lakers to cement their status as all-time greats in their respective sports.
And when Bryant met with some of Brady’s New England Patriots teammates in his absence a few years ago, they immediately saw some similarities as well.
‘A hundred percent,’ safety Duron Harmon told Sports Illustrated. ‘When he was telling us about his training regimen, how he approached a day, a light bulb went off in my head: That’s Tom.
‘You realize it’s no coincidence. That’s the reason why Kobe Bryant is Kobe Bryant. That’s the reason why Tom Brady is Tom Brady. [Brady’s] approach to the game, it’s totally different than the majority of the NFL, probably 99 percent of the NFL. And that’s why they have the success they have.’
Brady’s contract with New England expires on March 1, when he will become a free agent for the first time in his career.
Like Bryant, he has only played for one franchise, but that could change after March 17, when free agents are permitted to sign with teams.
