Is Kobe's death the saddest sports death story, ever? [View all]
Bill Simmons did an emergency podcast on the Ringer regarding Kobe's shocking death, and suggested that it might be the saddest sports death story ever. I started thinking about that. The story is shocking, to be sure.
The closest comparison I can come up with is Roberto Clemente's death in the plane crash.
Dale Earnhardt comes to mind, but death has always been an inherent part of motorsports.
Horse racing has had some beautiful animals die on the track, but I'm thinking about people in this context.
There are the disease deaths - Lou Gehrig, Brian Piccolo, Joe Roth
There are the "what might have been" deaths - like Sean Taylor having been murdered, or the Len Bias overdose.
There are events like the plane crash that claimed the Marshall football team.
Munich in '72 - but we generally think of that as a tragic event, like a 9-11, as opposed to the deaths of the individuals involved.
Can you think of a more shocking and/or tragic death in the sports world?
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