Rick Fox Speaks Out On False Reports That He Died With Kobe Bryant In Fatal Helicopter Crash
As the breaking news of Kobe Bryant’s helicopter crash spread through the internet, conflicting and false reports began to follow. One news outlet claimed that actor and former NBA player Rick Fox had been on board the helicopter that crashed in California Sunday, taking the lives of 9, including Kobe’s 13-year-old daughter, Gianna.
RELATED: Update: Kobe Bryant’s Daughter Gianna Also Died In Deadly Helicopter Crash
At that time, we could only imagine what was going through Fox’s family’s mind when hearing the news. But, soon they would receive a sign of relief after close sources confirmed that he was not one of the victims. Fox even tweeted later that Sunday and said,
“Kobe and Gianna may your souls and the souls of the others who were with you Rest In Peace. My condolences and prayers go out to Kobe’s wife Vanessa, his daughters and the Bryant Family. I Love You Kobe and will miss you dearly.”
He’s also now breaking his silence and sharing how that false rumors of him affected his family as he joined Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, Ernie Johnson, Derek Fisher, and Kenny Smith for a special segment during Tuesday night’s episode of Inside the NBA on TN. Fox said that someone had told his best friend, King Rice, that he may have been on the helicopter.
“I’m seeing King’s number repeatedly going and going and going, and I think he’s worried about me, so I said, ‘I’m gonna talk to my best friend,’ so I answered and said, ‘Hey man, this is crazy about Kobe,’ and he just was bawling,” he recalled. “And I started crying. And he was like, ‘You’re alive!’ And I was like, ‘Well, yeah. Like what do you mean?’ And it was in that moment that my phone just started going, and my mom and my sister and my brother… This has been a lot to process for all of us.”
He went on to say,
“I’m glad that’s over with, but it was hard to deal with because it shook a lot of people in my life,” Fox, who played for the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics during his career in the NBA, said.”
Fox also shared that it was hard for him and his family to take in the news about Kobe and Gianna, even bringing them to tears as they tried to understand what just happened.
As we previously reported, Kobe and Gianna were just two of nine people to die in Sunday’s helicopter crash that included Christina Mauser, John, Keri and Alyssa Altobelli, Sarah and Payton Chester and pilot Ara Zobayan.
The cause of the crash is not immediately clear as of right now.
Press Play Below For More:
RELATED: UPDATE: All Nine Victims In Horrific California Crash Identified
Source