The Seattle Times

NBA great Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna were among several people killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, Calif., on Sunday. Bryant was 41.

The Seattle sports community paid tribute to the former Los Angeles Lakers star and 2020 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame nominee.

“He has been such a big part of this generation’s life in sports and beyond sports,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said in an interview with the NFL Network at the Pro Bowl. “He’s been such an iconic figure to us. We’ve cited Kobe so many times because of who he is and because of the extraordinary nature of his make up and all. When it hit our locker room our guys were crushed. We all were. We didn’t know what to do. Where we going to walk out on the field and play a football game? It didn’t feel like the right thing to do at the time. But we thought if we was going to have a say in it, he would want us to go and play.

“But he’s been an irreplaceable figure. And we’ve cited him so may times. It’s a great, crushing loss.”