Kobe Bryant: Empowerment Personified
What were you doing when you were seventeen? Nine times out of ten you were either out and about, with a group of your friends in a car over the passenger limit absolutely up to no good. Not many people are thinking of never mind embarking on any meaningful endeavors at such an age and why should you? Half the people at that age have absolutely no idea what they want to do and most of them have their future imposed on them by those that raised them. Very few, very few have a vision of what they want to achieve at 17 let alone the strength, determination, and the “palle” to be able to pursue their dreams. The man we are paying tribute to here today had all of these characteristics in spades and some!
We are talking about a man who walked into the city of Angels to don the purple and gold of the Los Angeles Lakers at a very tender age, mind you this is no small feat. To any person who has no affinity for basketball and the gargantuan task that would have been awaiting the 17-year-old rookie from Philadelphia raised in Italy here are some of the names to have graced the Lakers uniform.
Magic Johnson five-time champion, 3 finals MVPs, and a business mogul. Kareem Abdul Jabbar is a 6-time champion and an advocate during the civil rights movement. Jerry West is a 2-time champion and longtime general manager for the Los Angeles Lakers and the man who is represented on the now-iconic NBA logo. Talk about pressure. When you talk about the Lakers the pressure isn’t just for you to play basketball. Because of the plethora of stars that have come before you the pressure you face far transcends the 44 minutes you spend on the hardwood.
The importance placed on the Lakers in a city where star power is not something you are at a premium off is enormous. Once you don the purple and gold you are expected to become a standard-bearer. A spiritual leader for the city and every aspect of your life is lived out in front of a million flashing cameras 24/7, 365. This was the type of pressure that Kobe Bryant would eventually live more than half his life under and boy oh boy did he deliver. As black youth growing up many are starved of any real role models, not to limit Kobe Bryant’s reach to the black community as his appeal was universal.
But I feel that his level of excellence and the way in which he applied himself both on and off the court carries great symbolic resonance for those within the black community in particular. Here is a man walking into a dressing room with the likes of Shaquille O'Neal, Derick Fisher, and Rick Fox. Boldly declaring to all these superstars that he is going to become the greatest of all time and off the court, he is going to become bigger than Will Smith. Wow! Imagine a mindset like that at the tender age of 17.
Of course, without work, there is absolutely no way you can achieve anything. The way Kobe Bryant pursued his goals both on and off the court with such a single-minded drive and near-psychotic obsession typifies just what one can do when they bring their passion and love into anything they do. In a time where empowerment is a word that is brandished about by people—without attaching any real sort of application to it — in my opinion, Kobe Bryant’s life is a true testament to what empowerment is all about.
Never surrendering or cheating one’s craft, family, friends, or organization in terms of effort and application, Kobe became a beacon of excellence. Achieving success across multiple fields — writing, production, and even venture-capital — Kobe shows that if any person is willing to learn and work hard they can prosper regardless of the limits prescribed by society. For me, this is the very personification of excellence and empowerment. I mean the man won an Oscar two years after he retired for crying out loud!
In a time where many people like to cheat us with these pseudo definitions of what success is a man like Kobe Bryant never fooled anyone. He made it clear to everyone that if you want to make it, sacrifices that the average man might not even dream of making must become part of your nature.
In a society where many of those we now follow lack the substance and depth that the young generation needs to be able to become successful, Kobe made it very clear the importance of mentors and positive role models. To lose someone like this is a devastating loss because his work was truly a gift to mankind. On top of that what makes Kobe Bryant all the more relatable was that he was a man who was incredibly flawed.
Some would even describe Kobe as stubborn to a fault — perhaps this caused him to end up not enjoying the back end of his career — also causing a rift to open up between him and Shaquille O'Neal. However, in spite of this, he was always able to man up and admit his shortcomings. When facing a criminal case for sexual assault, Kobe would show the strength and courage to apologize for the crime he was later acquitted for.
Kobe’s growth and development from such a low to what he had become at the time of his passing. Being an advocate for women’s rights and empowerment of women through sports — in particular, basketball showed just how possible it is for any individual to come from the depths of despair — to recover no matter how hard the circumstances.
Although some see him as just an athlete I personally think that this is doing a great disservice to him. He was more than that. A leader, a visionary, and a pioneer in his own right, Kobe will always be remembered fondly. His memory carrying great resonance to any person aspiring to be someone or to do better than what everyone expects of them. This being said, it is perhaps fitting that I finish this piece off with a quote from the great man. Asked by the interviewer what he learned in his 20 years at the top Kobe said.
There is no other fitting statement to describe the mentality of the man than that. His life will forever be living proof of just what courage, determination, and perseverance can help a man achieve. Rest in Peace to a legend. Thank you, Kobe, much love and respect to you.
