Fans mourn legend Kobe “Black Mamba” Bryant in front of the Staples Center in Los Angeles. (Photo credit: A.R. Shaw for Steed Media)
Big-name celebrities have joined forces with millions of sports fans to urge the NBA to change its 60-year-old logo to honor Kobe Bryant.
In the wake of Bryant’s tragic death on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, along with his daughter Gianna and seven others, fans have signed a petition to give the NBA’s logo a facelift from that of a silhouette of two-time Hall of Fame inductee Jerry West to one of the Black Mamba.
“With the untimely and unexpected passing of the great Kobe Bryant, please sign this petition in an attempt to immortalize him forever as the new NBA logo,” the petition reads.
However, despite the fact that the likes of rap legends Snoop Dogg and T.I. have signed the petition and West has said more than once that he wished the NBA would change it, the organization will not alter the logo, according to ESPN and Yahoo Sports.
West was a great player, a 14-time All-Star who won a title with the Lakers in 1972. He later captured eight more titles as an executive, six with the Lakers and two with Golden State. At 81, though, he’s never felt comfortable being the logo of the NBA.
“I don’t like to do anything to call attention to myself,” West told ESPN. “And when people say that, it’s just who I am, period. If they would want to change it, I wish they would. In many ways, I wish they would.”
West has urged the NBA to change the logo to represent Michael Jordan, universally considered the greatest player of all time.
But there are several reasons why the NBA will not change the logo from its current incarnation. Flip the page to find out what they are.
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