Kobe Bryant played his final game in Memphis on Wednesday. It was a mostly uneventful game, with Bryant’s Lakers losing in blowout fashion. While Kobe was applauded by Grizzlies’ fans much as he has in every other stop on his farewell tour, the biggest honor the 20 year veteran received came from a different source.
According to the Commercial Appeal, Bryant was presented with a “proclamation for his contributions” by Shelby County Schools. The proclamation has come as a result of Bryant being the first professional athlete to contribute to the Shoes for Our Kids Campaign.
This campaign, now in its twentieth year of existence, has raised money to provide shoes for over 12,000 students. Bryant’s first contribution came in 2010, despite the Laker not holding any personal ties to Memphis. These contributions came mostly from giving memorabilia to auction off and raise money.
Carter Rosenthal, chairman of the the campaign, maintained that they wanted to honor Bryant due to his huge contributions, as well as this being his final season in the NBA. Rosenthal had this to say about Bryant:
“We just wanted to honor him,” Rosenthal said.
This is the 20th year of the campaign, which to date has raised enough money for shoes for 12,000 students.
“We appreciate Kobe Bryant and the Lakers’ commitment to supporting our schools,” SCS said.
This is a wonderful story about one of the all-time greats in the NBA making an even bigger impact off the court than he has on it and a reminder of the good that many NBA players do for their communities.
