(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION Milwaukee 105, LA Clippers 100 Boston 111, Washington 110 New York 109, Detroit 90 Miami 109, Atlanta 99 LA Lakers 117, Golden State 91 Memphis 133, Houston 84 Phoenix 118 Minnesota 99 Charlotte 127, Sacramento 126 Chicago at Toronto (Postponed)
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Boston 4, NY Rangers 1 Philadelphia 3, Buffalo 0 Nashville 3, Columbus 1 Washington 3, New Jersey 2 NY Islanders 2, Pittsburgh 0 Chicago 7, Detroit 2
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL Iowa 73, Ohio St. 57 Butler 73, Villanova 61 Houston 98, South Florida 52
(NEW YORK) — Vanessa Bryant, the widow of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, is seeking to publicly name the Los Angeles County deputies who allegedly shared the photos of the helicopter crash site that killed her husband, daughter and seven others.
In September, Vanessa Bryant sued the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department over the sharing of the “unauthorized” photos, seeking damages for negligence, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Vanessa Bryant’s lawyers filed an amended complaint on Wednesday that added the deputies and the Los Angeles County Fire Department as defendants in the lawsuit.
The new court documents detailed an internal affairs report by the sheriff’s department that states one deputy took up to 100 photos at the scene, several of which were then quickly shared by text and other phone messaging apps over the next two days by deputies.
The names of the deputies were blacked out in the complaint. The court will decide whether the complaint should be sealed.
“These specific deputies need to be held accountable for their actions just like everyone else,” Vanessa Bryant wrote in an Instagram story on Saturday.
Lawyers for Los Angeles County have argued to keep the deputies’ names sealed because releasing them would make personal information, such as home addresses, public as well, increasing the likelihood that they should be targeted by hackers who may try to gain access to their personal devices and publish the photos, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The county’s lawyers also argued that if the defendants were to remain anonymous, the “public will still be able to review the relevant allegations,” according to the Times.
The lawsuit also alleged that Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva personally assured Vanessa Bryant shortly after the crash that deputies were securing the scene to protect her privacy. The complaint alleged that Villanueva later told Bryant that when he found out deputies took and shared photos he ordered them to be destroyed to prevent them from becoming public, calling the deputies’ conduct “disgusting” and “wildly inappropriate.”
After the initial lawsuit was filed in September, Villanueva said that the actions the department took “were the correct ones in extraordinary circumstances.” Villanueva has also noted repeatedly that the photos did not circulate wider because of his actions, the Times reported.
Several deputies and county firefighters shared images from the crash site from the personal phone, the complaint alleged. One deputy trainee who was guarding a trail that lead to the crash site allegedly shared multiple photos he received of Kobe Bryant’s remains to members of the public, including a woman and bartender at a bar later that night, according to the lawsuit. A bar security camera allegedly showed the trainee zooming into the photos as he shows them, and the bartender loudly boasted to patrons and other employees that he had seen Kobe Bryant’s body, the complaint states.
Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna Bryant, and seven others — two teammates of Gianna’s, their parents and the helicopter pilot, were killed on Jan. 26, 2020, when the Sikorsky S-76B crashed onto a hillside in Calabasas, California.
Days after the crash, Vanessa Bryant released a statement saying she was “devastated” over a report by the Los Angeles Times that deputies who responded to the scene shared photos of the wreckage and victims’ remains.
In September, California Gov. Gavin Newsome signed a bill into law making it illegal for first responders to take unauthorized photos of dead people at the scene of a crime or accident.
The NTSB investigation into the crash, released earlier this month, found that the pilot, Ara Zobayan, became disoriented while flying in thick fog. Zobayan also did not follow training and violated visual flight rules, the investigation found.
VCG/VCG via Getty ImagesBy MARLENE LENTHANG, ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Basketball star Jeremy Lin said he was called “coronavirus” on the court in a social media post in which he denounced racism against Asian Americans.
“Being an Asian American doesn’t mean we don’t experience poverty and racism,” Lin shared on social media late Thursday. “Being a 9-year NBA veteran doesn’t protect me from being called ‘coronavirus’ on the court.”
Lin didn’t state when the incident took place. The G League is now investigating Lin’s claim, ESPN reported.
Racist attacks have soared against the Asian community amid the pandemic as COVID-19 first emerged on the global radar in Wuhan, China.
Between March and December last year, the organization Stop Asian American and Pacific Islander Hate recorded nearly 3,000 reports of anti-Asian hate incidents nationwide.
The 34-year-old athlete, who formerly played point guard for the New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets, now plays for the NBA’s G League team the Santa Cruz Warriors, an affiliate of the Golden State Warriors.
Lin encouraged the public to speak up against racist behavior in his post.
“We are tired of Asian American kids growing up and being asked where they’re REALLY from, of having our eyes mocked, of being objectified as exotic or being told we’re inherently unattractive,” he wrote.
“We are tired of being invisible, of being mistaken for our colleague or told our struggles aren’t as real,” he added.
Santa Cruz Warriors officials did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Friday he wants the NBA to investigate Lin’s claim.
“Really powerful. I applaud Jeremy for his words and echo his sentiments regarding racism against the Asian American community,” Kerr said per ESPN.
Lin, who was born in California to Taiwanese parents, was the first Asian American player to win an NBA championship in 2019 when the Toronto Raptors beat the Golden State Warriors.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events: NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION Philadelphia 111, Dallas 97 Brooklyn 129, Orlando 92 New York 140, Sacramento 121 Memphis 122, LA Clippers 94 Washington 112, Denver 110 Milwaukee 129, New Orleans 125
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Chicago 2, Columbus 0 Ottawa 6, Calgary 1 NY Islanders 7, Boston 2 Washington 5, Pittsburgh 2 New Jersey 4, Buffalo 3 (OT) Florida 3, Dallas 2 Tampa Bay 3, Carolina 1 Detroit 5, Nashville 2 Winnipeg 6, Montreal 3 Edmonton 3, Vancouver 0 Vegas at San Jose (Postponed)
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL Gonzaga 89, Santa Clara 75 Michigan 79, Iowa 57 Michigan St. 71, Ohio St. 67 Illinois 86, Nebraska 70 Houston 81, W. Kentucky 57 Colorado 80, Southern Cal 62 San Diego St. 78, Boise St. 66 Houston at Wichita St. (Canceled)
(NEW YORK) — Former USA gymnastics coach John Geddert, who led the 2012 U.S. Olympic women’s gymnastics team to win gold, died by suicide Thursday after charges of human trafficking and sexual assault were announced against him.
Attorney Chris Bergstrom’s office, which represents Geddert, and the Michigan attorney general’s office confirmed his death to ABC News.
“My office has been notified that the body of John Geddert was found late this afternoon after taking his own life,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement Thursday afternoon. “This is a tragic end to a tragic story for everyone involved.”
Michigan State Police stated Geddert’s body was located by troopers at the rest area near the I-96 highway in Clinton County at 3:24 p.m. Police would not comment on the cause of death and said the investigation is ongoing.
The 63-year-old coach was charged with 24 felonies Thursday in Eaton County, Michigan. He was accused of physically, emotionally and sexually abusing gymnasts he coached at his gym, Twistars gymnastics club in Dimondale, Michigan, according to the complaint.
Geddert had been expected to turn himself in at 2:15 p.m. to the Eaton County Sheriff’s Department.
His young athletes were allegedly subjected to “excessive physical conditioning, repeatedly being forced to perform even while injured, extreme emotional abuse and physical abuse, including sexual assault,” Nessel said at a Thursday press conference announcing the charges.
As a result, the victims suffered eating disorders, suicide attempts and self-harm, Nessel alleged.
According to the complaint, Geddert was also accused of sexually assaulting a teen with his hands in 2012 and lying to investigators when he claimed that he never heard anyone complain about his associate Larry Nassar, the Olympic team doctor who was convicted of sexually abusing young female athletes.
In 2018, Nassar was sentenced to up to 175 years behind bars for his decades of abuse after more than 150 survivors and family members testified against him.
Geddert and Nassar worked closely for decades and both rose to prominence in the gymnastics world. Nassar worked with gymnasts at Twistars, where hundreds claimed he sexually abused them.
Geddert faced 20 counts of human trafficking and forced labor causing injury, one count of racketeering, two counts of criminal sexual conduct for assaulting a girl under the age of 16 and one count of lying to a peace officer.
His lawyer did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment on the charges.
Geddert had been under investigation for three years, after victim impact statements shared at Nassar’s sentencing hearings claimed Geddert knew about the abuse.
Rachael Denhollander, the first woman to publicly accuse Nassar of sexual assault, spoke out about Geddert’s death Thursday, saying there was “so much pain and grief for everyone.”
“To the survivors, you have been heard and believed, and we stand with you,” Denhollander wrote on Twitter. “Thank you for telling the truth. What you have done matters. Please stay safe, you are loved and wanted here.”
ABC News’ Rachel Katz and Celia Darrough contributed to this report.
iStockBy ABC News
