Kobe Bryant was one of the most influential and inspirational people in the history of the sports world. This past Sunday, Bryant was involved in a helicopter crash. The helicopter ride quickly took a turn for the worse when it crashed into a foggy mountain near Calabasas. The "high energy impact crash" killed Bryant and eight other people.
Retrieved from: New York Times

It was later discovered that Kobe Bryant's thirteen-year-old daughter was also killed from the crash. January 26th will always be known as a tragic day in America. Athletes all over the world lost their role model and, even worse, his daughter on that day.

 Picture retrieved from TMZ.com 

https://www.tmz.com/2020/01/26/kobe-bryant-killed-dead-helicopter-crash-in-calabasas/

People around the world are sending their prayers and condolences to Vanessa Bryant (Kobe's wife) to get her through this time, after losing her husband and daughter. TMZ, a news company, actually released an article with the news of Kobe Bryant's death before the family could even be informed. The identities of those who also passed away were not yet confirmed when TMZ released an article, notifying people of the basketball legend's death. “It would be extremely disrespectful to understand that your loved one … perished and you learn about it from TMZ,” Villanueva, a LA County Sheriff, said. “That is just wholly inappropriate.”

News is news. People want to know what's going on in the world; sometimes they even need to. However, TMZ should have had the respect to wait until their family could at least be notified about the death of their child, sibling or parent. The article that TMZ posted spread like wildfire on the internet, instantly. Within minutes, thousands of people were reading this article, heartbroken over the accident. Although I don't know exactly how Vanessa Bryant (Kobe's wife) felt when she read the article, I can imagine how terrible it would be to find out that way. The other families involved who found out from this article must have felt so confused and shocked.

Picture retrieved from Twitter.com.

In my opinion, what TMZ did was not only disrespectful, but it was incredibly selfish. They wanted to be the first place people read the news from, which is exactly what happened. They sensationalized the fact that these families are now without mothers, fathers, children and siblings. This was all for selfish reasons. With intentions to gain publicity for their own company, they minimized the emotions that not only their families were about to feel, but the rest of the world as well. 

Information: WGNTV