Usher Raymond, Justin Bieber and Snoop Dogg are among the stars calling for the NBA to change its logo in honor of the late Kobe Bryant.
The Los Angeles Lakers legend was just 41 when he was killed in a helicopter crash alongside his daughter Gianna, 13, their pilot, Ara Zobayan, 50, and six other passengers in California on Sunday, Jan. 26.
Following the heartbreaking news, tributes have poured in for Bryant, and fans are petitioning the NBA to change its logo to recognize the star.
Naomi Campbell (pictured) and Vanessa Hudgens were also among the famous faces backing fan Nick M‘s campaign on website change.org, which features a logo mockup by graphic artist Tyson Beck.
The petition aims to replace the current image, which features former basketball player and executive Jerry West in a silhouette (far right). The current NBA logo was designed by Alan Siegel in 1969.
Lakers legends Jerry West (left) and Bryant posed together after the Lakers defeated the San Antonio Spurs in Game Five of the Western Conference Finals during the 2008 NBA Playoffs on May 29, 2008 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
“Couldn’t be a better time or all around athlete and person for it,” Usher wrote on Instagram, adding, “#changethelogo.”
But many NBA fans disagree. They want the NBA to leave the logo the way it is. Fans say social media has a tendency to make martyrs out of celebrities such as mixtape rapper Nipsey Hussle, who was gunned down in Los Angeles in March 2019.
When WENN.com went to press, the petition had amassed over 1.5 million signatures.
