Arizona Cardinals react to passing of Kobe Bryant

Far reaching outside the NBA, Arizona Cardinals players react to the passing of NBA and Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant on Sunday

Kobe Bryant was more than a basketball player, he was a celebrity.  He was an icon.  His mark on the game of basketball was so huge it left marks on the entire sporting world, Arizona Cardinals players included.

Bryant, who played 20 seasons in the NBA with the Lakers and retired in 2016, was killed along with his daughter and 7 others on Sunday in a helicopter crash. There was a lot of reaction from around the world to his passing.

Among those reacting were Cardinals players.  NFL players, NHL, MLB players all realize just what an icon Bryant was.  People in all walks of life idolized him.

A number of sports figures took to Twitter to comment on the tragedy.  Included in that were some Cardinals players, linebacker Chandler Jones included. He just played in the NFL Pro Bowl on Sunday.

He touched a lot of people.  Many Cardinals fans are also Phoenix Suns fans, for obvious reasons.  We all hated Kobe as an opponent with the Lakers, we remember the playoff battles, some won some lost.

No matter how much of a fierce competitor he was and no matter how much we hate all things Los Angeles, you have to respect the competitiveness he brought to the floor every night.  That competitiveness inspired many athletes, even football players.

Just last week, Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald became a minority owner of the Suns.  The story was tweeted out by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, along with a picture of Fitz alongside Kobe.

It will be difficult for Cardinals players and many many others to digest this news as we learn more about what happened on the hill outside of Los Angeles Sunday morning.  It’s a reminder Cardinals players and other athletes are human too.

Our thoughts go out to Bryant’s family and the families of the others that perished in Sunday’s crash.  Just unfathomable to think he is gone.  He did so much for the game on and off the court.

Sports is what brings many of us together.  It’s certainly one of the saddest days in the history of sports.