Kobe Bryant grew up in Italy and spoke fluent Italian (2024)

For the next seven days, every professional team in all levels of basketball throughout Italy will honor Kobe Bryant with a moment of silence in every game.

Italian Basketball Federation's president Giovanni Petrucci told CNN, "We are shocked and saddened by what happened to him and his daughter Gianna and we hold his family close to our hearts in this moment of sorrow."

Bryant's connection to Italy: Bryant grew up in Italy during the 1980s when his father played for a series of local teams in the country. He spoke fluent Italian, and spent the formative years of his career playing on the city's youth team Cantine Riunite.

The helicopter that crashed yesterday in Calabasas, California, was operating under “Special Visual Flight Rules,” according to an air traffic control audio conversation with the pilot, captured by website LiveATC.net.

What that means: A SVFR, Special Visual Flight Rules, clearance is given to pilots to allow them to fly in weather conditions worse than those allowed for standard Visual Flight Rules (VFR).

The Burbank Airport control tower allowed the helicopter to proceed northeast following the I-5 highway using the SVFR clearance.

“Maintain special VFR at or below 2,500” the pilot confirmed to the controller.

Later in the flight, the pilot apparently asked for “flight following,” a service where controllers are in regular contract with an aircraft.The controller was recorded telling the pilot “2 echo x-ray, you’re still too low level for flight following at this time.”That could mean the helicopter was too low to be seen on Air Traffic Control radar.

Satellite imagery showed the cloud cover at the time of the crash. Below, you can see the flight path in blue:

British soccer legend David Beckham shared four photos on Instagram this morning to honor of Kobe Bryant.

In his post, Beckham reflected on Bryant's career. "Sometimes I would only go to games just to watch that clock go down to the last 2:00 minutes knowing that we were about to witness something special," he wrote.

He added: "This was one special athlete, husband, father and friend."

See the full post:

Ryan Seacrest shared a photo of a makeshift New York City subway tribute to Kobe Bryant.

At the 42nd Street-Bryant Park stop, someone posted "Kobe" on a sign, so it reads "Kobe Bryant Park."

California Rep. Maxine Waters said Los Angeles is "mourning the loss of one of our most beloved legends and icons" following the death of Kobe Bryant.

"ThoughKobeBryant is no longer with us, our city will never forget what he meant to us, and we will keep his legacy alive forever," she said in a statement.

Here's her full statement:

Spanish soccer giant Real Madrid held a minute's silence ahead of Monday's training session. The La Liga club posted a picture of the squad with heads bowed and forming a circle on the pitch.

As the world tries to come to terms withthe crash that claimed the life of basketball superstar Kobe Bryant, fans and cities across the United States have been paying tribute to the NBA legend.

"Kobe just meant the world to me and all of us here in LA, growing up just idolizing somebody who dedicated their grind to their craft," one fan told CNN affiliateKABC.

"He always wanted to push to a higher level. You don't see that no more. I just appreciate everything you did Kobe, for real."

Los Angeles City Hall was lit up in Lakers purple and gold Sunday night to honor the player.

The city's airport was adorned in the same colors, with a post on its Twitter account saying, "Kobe was in many ways a symbol of Los Angeles and we join his family, fans and city in mourning all who were lost today."

And outside the Staples Center, where millions watched the icon play, fans gathered despite the additional security measures set up for the Grammy Awards taking place.

"We just didn't know where else to go," a group of fans told CNN affiliateKTLA.

To read more on how America has reacted to Bryant's death, click here.

Sarah Chester and her daughter Payton were also passengers aboard the helicopter, according to a Facebook post by Todd Schmidt who worked at Harbor View Elementary School, where Payton once attended.

“While the world mourns the loss of a dynamic athlete and humanitarian, I mourn the loss of two people just as important... their impact was just as meaningful, their loss will be just as keenly felt, and our hearts are just as broken,” Schmidt, the school's former principal, wrote in the Facebook post.

This story has been updated to reflect that Todd Schmidt no longer works at Harbor View Elementary School.

Rafael Nadal beat Nick Kyrgios in a thrilling fourth-round match at the Australian Open.

After his win, the 19-time grand slam champion spoke of Bryant's death.

"It is terrible news, I'm super sad," he told John McEnroe in an on-court interview.

"He was one of the greatest sportsmen in history and deserves a round of big applause.

"He always wanted to increase his level and was an inspiration to the world of sport and a lot of kids."

Nadal won 6-3 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-4) to set up a quarter final against Dominic Thiem.