Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna attended the 2019 WNBA All Star Game in Las Vegas. (Photo: Stephen R. Sylvanie, USA TODAY Sports)
Kobe Bryant has influenced not only basketball stars across the globe, but also proud fathers everywhere.
On Sunday, the NBA legend was killed in a helicopter crash, along with his daughter, Gianna, and seven others.
In honor of Bryant’s legacy, ESPN anchor Elle Duncan shared a personal story meeting Kobe backstage at an event in New York.
Duncan was eight months pregnant at the time, prompting Bryant to immediately ask how she was doing and what she was having.
Duncan said after telling Bryant she was having a girl, he high-fived her, saying “girls are the best.” She then asked Bryant – a father of four daughters – about having more girls in the family.
“I would have five more girls if I could. I am a girl dad,” Bryant said, according to Duncan.
Video of the ESPN segment spread quickly on social media, spawning the hashtag #girldad featuring countless fathers sharing pictures with their daughters in appreciation of life as a “girl dad.” A tweet of Duncan’s story from Vincent Goodwill, senior NBA writer for Yahoo, has more than 859,000 likes as of Wednesday morning.
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This one damn near broke me pic.twitter.com/hdAwOKBrWl
Thank you Kobe! Now I know what it means to be a #GirlDadpic.twitter.com/u3GFRdAlt8
Blessed & Highly Favored!
Im a #GirlDadpic.twitter.com/LWIE5XjAGM
#girldadpic.twitter.com/ggLZHqOERA
#girldadpic.twitter.com/UtVjPLE17A
In a series of tweets posted after the segment aired, Duncan expressed how “moved” she was by her story and the support of #girldad on social media. “This is trending nationwide because there’s no greater or more significant relationship than that of a dad and his daughter(s).”
I’m so moved by the outpouring of support behind my story about Kobe. And I love that #girldad is trending.. so for all those proud fathers who still have their girls to love on can you flood my timeline with pics of you and your flock. Honestly I need it as much as anyone rt now
Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.
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