Basketball star Rick Fox opened up about what his family and friends went through after seeing rumors that Fox was on the helicopter that left Kobe Bryant and others dead.
Rick Fox appeared on Tuesday’s episode of “Inside The NBA,” where he discussed how inaccurate reporting affected his family.
.@RickFox discusses how Sunday’s inaccurate reports affected his family. pic.twitter.com/tynwNicB01
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 29, 2020
“My family went through, in the midst of all this, something that I couldn’t imagine them experiencing,” Fox recalled. “One of my daughter’s greatest fears is finding out that one of her parents has been lost through social media, instead of from a loved one or a family member. And she fortunately called me and we were just talking and crying about the news of Kobe.”
“The phone starts going off, and I’m thinking to myself, ‘Everybody wants to talk about Kobe.’ And right now I want to be with my kids and my family,” Fox said.
Fox not answering calls further ignited the rumor that he had been onboard the helicopter with Bryant during the fatal crash. (RELATED: Kobe Bryant Says Women Could Play In The NBA ‘Right Now’)
“I’m seeing King’s number repeatedly going and going and going, and so I think he’s worried about me, so I said, ‘I’m gonna talk to my best friend,’ so I answered and said, ‘Hey man, this is crazy about Kobe,’ and he just was bawling,” Fox recalled. “He was like, ‘You’re alive!’ And I was like, ‘Well, yeah. What do you mean?’ And it was in that moment that my phone just started going, and my mom and my sister and my brother [were calling].”
“I’m glad [the rumor] is over with, but it was hard to deal with because it shook a lot of people in my life,” he added.
Multiple reports with misinformation surfaced Sunday after the news first broke. At one point, all of Bryant’s family was reported dead while other outlets reported none of Bryant’s family was aboard the helicopter with him.
Ultimately, Bryant died alongside his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others including the helicopter pilot.