Kobe Bryant's final "heroic" wish will be honored on behalf of crash victim's surviving daughter
Moments before dying in a helicopter crash on January 26, Kobe Bryant texted a request to a longtime friend. Today, that wish is being honored, courtesy of baseball agent Scott Boras.
Boras said he will honor Bryant's wish to create a baseball internship for the surviving daughter of John Altobelli who was killed alongside the NBA legend. Boras told the Los Angeles Times he is working on creating a position for Alexis Altobelli that will rotate through his company's various departments.
During a memorial service for Kobe and Gianna Bryant at Staples Center, Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka shared a story about the his last interaction with his longtime friend. Pelinka described being in church on the morning of January 26 when he received a text message from Bryant.
The former Laker star asked if Pelinka could put him in contact with "a certain baseball agent based in Southern California" to set up an internship Altobelli's 16-year-old daughter Alexis.
Moments later, a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter carrying 41-year-old Kobe, Gianna, John Altobelli, his wife Keri, and their younger daughter, 14-year-old Alyssa, and four others crashed in Calabasas, killing everyone on board.
"Kobe's last human act was heroic," Pelinka said at the Monday service. "He wanted to use his platform to bless and shape a little girl's future."
According to The Times, Pelinka contacted Boras days following the crash and became aware that before the tragic crash, Boras had invited John Altobelli and Alexis to tour the Boras Corp. office and had set a plan to figure out how Alexis could gain experience working there.
