Kobe Bryant, Brexit and the Politics of Sport

Abstract

Just over two weeks ago, on the evening of Sunday 26th January, news began to break about the death of the basketball icon Kobe Bryant. The former NBA star was travelling by helicopter with his daughter, Gianna, and seven others to attend Gianna's youth basketball match. There were no survivors of the crash in the Calabasas area of Los Angeles County. The legacy and visibility of Kobe Bryant spread far beyond the world of sport; this tragedy has shown that his life and career showed that athletes can influence the world in much more significant ways.