Snoop Dogg and Justin Bieber are among the 2 million people who have signed a Change.org petition to change the NBA logo to a silhouette of the late Kobe Bryant.
Bryant and his daughter Gianna were among nine people who died in a helicopter crash on Sunday. Since that time, there has been an outpouring of grief from his fans, with this petition being the latest attempt to honor the 18-time all-star player.
The petition was started by a man named Nick M. who wrote: “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.”
As of this writing, the petition has more than 2.3 million signatures.
According to a statement given to CNN, it’s the fastest-growing petition on Change.org.
“Nick’s petition is not only the fastest-growing on Change.org, it’s also the first petition of 2020 to top 1 million signatures anywhere in the globe,” said Michael Jones, managing director of Change.org. “As the world comes to terms with the death of someone as famous and well-known as Kobe Bryant, Nick has given basketball fans an outlet to create a permanent memory of someone who made history in the NBA.”
The hashtag #ChangeTheLogo also began trending on Twitter, with fans and celebrities alike supporting the change.
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Couldn’t be a better time or all around athlete and person for it. #changethelogo
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New logo. @nba Let’s do what’s right
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Petition on @ballislife go sign!!!
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Fans have also been suggesting possible images of Kobe that could be used as the new logo.
— KB_Hereaux (@Hereaux_KB) January 27, 2020
— ben (33-8) (@bexjii) January 28, 2020
Na this is one right here…@NBA gotta do this straight up pic.twitter.com/zRecMhzM7T
— LaFaybeion Brown (@Mr_Brown26) January 28, 2020
— Diamxnd_InTheRxugh (@Vocal_Athlete) January 28, 2020
The NBA’s current logo was designed in 1969 by Alan Siegel and features the silhouette of Jerry West. Like Bryant, West was also a shooting guard who played his entire career for the Los Angeles Lakers (1960-1974). He later became the team’s coach and is now an executive board member for the NBA.
The current NBA logo featuring a silhouette of West
West has publicly stated that, although he was flattered by the logo designed, he is also somewhat embarrassed by it. In 2017, he told the Washington Post that he wished the NBA would change it. “If they would want to change it, I wish they would,” he said during the interview. West joked that commissioner Adam Silver would be a good replacement. Previously, in a 2015 Huffington Post article, West suggested that Michael Jordan would be a good choice for a new logo.
So it’s a fair bet that the man who is the current NBA logo wouldn’t object to the change, especially since he was the Lakers general manager when Bryant joined the team.
“I will love Kobe forever and always cherish the time that I spent with him,” West said in a statement given to the Los Angeles Times following the crash “I watched him grow from an energetic kid into the man he became, making a difference in so many people’s lives. He has left the world a better place. Kobe’s legacy will live forever.
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