Judge rules in favor of Vanessa Bryant in crash photos suit
LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California has ruled that Kobe Bryant’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, can obtain the names of four Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies who allegedly shared graphic photos from the site of the helicopter crash that killed her husband, their daughter Gianna and seven others.
An effort by Los Angeles County lawyers to keep the deputies’ names under seal was rejected Monday by U.S. District Judge John F. Walter, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The ruling means the names and details from an internal affairs investigation of the deputies could be added to Vanessa Bryant’s lawsuit against the county and the Sheriff’s Department. The county, however, can appeal the decision.
Kobe Bryant and the others were killed Jan. 26, 2020, when the helicopter they were aboard crashed west of Los Angeles in the hills of Calabasas.
The Times later reported that an investigation found deputies shared photos of victims’ remains. Vanessa Bryant sued, seeking damages for negligence and invasion of privacy.
County lawyers argued that the deputies’ names should remain under seal because releasing them would make it easy for hackers to locate their personal information and addresses.
The judge wrote that Sheriff Alex Villanueva’s “promise to publicly release the (internal affairs bureau) report after the conclusion of the investigation undermines Defendants’ purported concern in the disclosure of the limited excerpts at issue here.”
The judge also wrote that the public has a vested interest in assessing the truthfulness of allegations of police misconduct.
Pierce, Cooper, Bosh lead finalists for 2021 Hoop Hall class
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce, “Showtime” Los Angeles Lakers star Michael Cooper and 11-time NBA All-Star Chris Bosh lead a list of 14 finalists for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2021.
The list announced Tuesday features six other firsttime finalists: former NBA coach Rick Adelman, twotime NCAA champion and Villanova coach Jay Wright, two-time Olympic gold medalist Yolanda Griffith, threetime WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson and former WNBA coach of the year Marianne Stanley, plus Hall of Famer Bill Russell for inclusion as a coach.
Russell, who won 11 NBA titles while playing for the Celtics, became the NBA’s first Black head coach in 1966 while he was still a player. He led Boston to back-to-back NBA titles in 1967-68 and 1968-69 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a player in 1975.
Rounding out the list of finalists are Leta Andrews, the all-time winningest high school coach, male or female; Michigan “Fab Five” member Chris Webber; 2000 Olympic gold medalist Tim Hardaway; five-time NBA All-Star Marques Johnson and fourtime NBA defensive player of the year Ben Wallace.
The Class of 2021 will be announced on May 16. The enshrinement ceremony is scheduled for September in Springfield. The exact date has not been released.
The Class of 2020 ceremony, headlined by the late Lakers star Kobe Bryant, was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic and has been rescheduled for May 14-16 in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Padres hoping to have 20% capacity for opener
The San Diego Padres believe they will be able to have 20% capacity — or roughly 8,500 fans — at Petco Park for opening day on April 1 if San Diego County is moved into the red tier in the state’s system for determining when it’s safe for businesses to resume operations.
The county could be moved into the red tier next week.
Padres CEO Erik Greupner said Tuesday that it’s possible the team could be playing before capacity crowds at the 42,000-seat ballpark later in the season. Expectations are high based on last year’s playoff appearance, the signing of superstar shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. to a 14-year contract and the acquisition of pitchers Yu Darvish and Blake Snell.