Vanessa Bryant offers statement on death of Joe ‘Jellybean’ Bryant

Vanessa Bryant is speaking out on the death of her father-in-law Joe “Jellybean” Bryant.

The news broke on Tuesday that Joe, the former NBA player and father of Kobe Bryant, died at the age of 69. Joe apparently suffered a massive stroke, leading to his death.

In a post to her Instagram Story on Tuesday, Vanessa, Kobe’s widow, addressed the death of Joe.

“Sending our condolences upon hearing the news of my father in law’s passing,” Vanessa wrote. “We hoped things would’ve been different. Although the times we spent together were few, he was always sweet and nice to be around. Kobe loved him very much. Our prayers go out to family.”

Vanessa Bryant on Joe Bryant’s passing: pic.twitter.com/Y1FeTDpFgd

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 16, 2024

Kobe had a very tumultuous relationship with his parents Joe and Pam, in large part because they disapproved of his relationship with Vanessa. After Kobe began his NBA career in 1996, he met Vanessa in 1999, and they wed in 2001. In a sign of their estranged relationship, Kobe’s parents were not present at the wedding. In fact, the iconic picture of a stoic Kobe with the Larry O’Brien Trophy after winning the NBA title in 2001 (that many have since tried to recreate) came in the context of Kobe’s emotions at winning a championship in his hometown of Philadelphia … but without his parents there to celebrate with him.

While Kobe had some contact with his parents in subsequent years, they had other bitter public disputes with one another and never truly mended their relationship before Kobe’s death in a Jan. 2020 helicopter crash. Vanessa hinted at some of those issues in her Instagram post here but is ultimately sending her condolences in the wake of Joe’s passing.