Full Text of HR0715 101st General Assembly
HR0715 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of NBA | 4 | | superstar Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, on January 26, | 5 | | 2020; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Kobe Bryant was born in Philadelphia, | 7 | | Pennsylvania to Joe and Pamela Cox Bryant on August 23, 1978; | 8 | | when he was six, his family moved to Italy, and he spent many | 9 | | of his formative years there learning Italian and playing | 10 | | soccer; he returned to the U.S. during the summers to play in | 11 | | basketball summer leagues; he earned national recognition | 12 | | while playing basketball at Lower Merion High School in | 13 | | Ardmore, Pennsylvania, where he played on the varsity | 14 | | basketball team as a freshman; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Kobe Bryant joined the NBA directly from high | 16 | | school and played his entire 20-season professional career with | 17 | | the Los Angeles Lakers, his favorite team while growing up; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, During his career, Kobe Bryant won five NBA | 19 | | championships (2000–2002, 2009, 2010); he was an 18-time | 20 | | All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, and 12-time | 21 | | member of the All-Defensive Team; he was named the 2008 NBA | 22 | | Most Valuable Player and was a two-time NBA Finals MVP; he led |
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| 1 | | the NBA in scoring during two seasons, ranks fourth on the | 2 | | league's all-time regular season scoring, and ranks fourth on | 3 | | the all-time postseason scoring list; he is also a two-time | 4 | | Gold Medal Winner with the U.S. Men's Basketball Team (2008 | 5 | | Beijing, 2012 London);
he is widely regarded as one of the | 6 | | greatest basketball players of all time; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Kobe Bryant scored a season-high 60 points against | 8 | | Utah in his last NBA game on April 13, 2016, outscoring the | 9 | | entire Jazz team 23–21 in the fourth quarter in a Lakers' | 10 | | victory; he became the oldest player to score 60 or more points | 11 | | in a game at 37 years and 234 days old; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Kobe Bryant said that he wanted more out of life | 13 | | than just a successful basketball career; he married Vanessa | 14 | | Laine at St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church in Dana | 15 | | Point, California on April 18, 2001, and they had four | 16 | | daughters, Natalia, Gianna, Vanessa, and Capri; his daughter, | 17 | | Gianna, had a passion for basketball, and he enjoyed sharing | 18 | | his love of basketball with her; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Gianna Maria Onore Bryant, also referred to as | 20 | | Gigi, was born on May 1, 2006; she considered her Kobe a role | 21 | | model and cited him as a reason she wanted to play in the WNBA; | 22 | | she played youth basketball for the Mamba Sports Academy, where | 23 | | she was coached by her father; she wanted to play college |
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| 1 | | basketball at the University of Connecticut and regularly | 2 | | attended UConn, WNBA, and Lakers games with Kobe; she had a | 3 | | very close relationship with her father and was usually by his | 4 | | side; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Kobe Bryant was the official ambassador for | 6 | | After-School All-Stars, an American non-profit organization | 7 | | that provides comprehensive after-school programs to children; | 8 | | he also started the Kobe Bryant China Fund, which raises money | 9 | | within China for education and health programs; on November 4, | 10 | | 2010, he was part of a group that presented a $1 million check | 11 | | to the Call of Duty Endowment, a nonprofit organization that | 12 | | helps veterans transition to civilian careers after their | 13 | | military service has ended; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Together with his wife, Kobe Bryant founded the | 15 | | Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation, a charity dedicated | 16 | | to improving the lives of youth and families in need; the | 17 | | foundation supports programs that strengthen communities and | 18 | | promote mutual understanding among people around the world; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, In 2018, Kobe Bryant became the first African | 20 | | American to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film | 21 | | and the first former professional athlete to be nominated and | 22 | | to win an Academy Award in any category for his film Dear | 23 | | Basketball; on October 23, 2018, his book, The Mamba Mentality: |
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| 1 | | How I Play, was published, and most recently, he was working on | 2 | | a children's book aimed at inspiring underprivileged children; | 3 | | therefore, be it
| 4 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 5 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 6 | | we mourn the passing of Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, | 7 | | and extend our sincere condolences to their family, friends, | 8 | | and all who knew and loved them; and be it further | 9 | | RESOLVED, That we declare January 25, 2020 as "Kobe Bryant | 10 | | Day" in the State of Illinois; and be it further
| 11 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 12 | | presented to the family of Kobe and Gianna Bryant as a symbol | 13 | | of our deepest sympathy.
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