As a means of protecting the legacy of her daughter Gianna and husband Kobe, Vanessa Bryant is doing everything in her power to make sure girls feel they have equal opportunities in the world of sports.
Earlier this week, the 39-year-old accepted the Be Your Own Champion Award for her work with her Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation where she discussed her desire to advocate for young girls in sports.
During her acceptance speech, she shared, “As a mother of four strong girls, I care deeply about not only leveling the playing field for girls but elevating it.”
“I want to instill in our young people that girls are just as good as boys, and oftentimes better,” she added. “I think it’s important to elevate the way both girls and boys view each other as teammates versus competitors at a young age.”
In addition, Bryant emphasized the importance of having young girls and boys work together to form common goals. in doing this, she believes that girls and boys will have more respect for one another in the future.
She explained, “If they’re taught how to share common goals and compete together to achieve them, then those skills will not only help them grow as children but it will also help them grow in business and future relationships as adults.”
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Vanessa Bryant discusses her goals and Kobe Bryant’s relationship with girls in sports
However, Bryant expressed that her biggest goal with Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation is, “to provide young girls with opportunities to showcase their talents and to dominate in their fields.”
She relayed that this goal was shared by Kobe as well, and since his passing, she feels it is a duty to respect his wishes. “It was important to Kobe, it was exemplified by Gigi and it is something for which Natalia, Bianka, Capri, and I will always fight for,” she commented, mentioning her other daughters as well.
Bryant has detailed throughout her grieving process the desire to stay as positive as possible in order to be the best mom possible for her daughters. Last year, the mother discussed with PEOPLE how she is navigating her emotions.
“This pain is unimaginable [but] you just have to get up and push forward,” she said. Bryant included the sentiments, “Lying in bed crying isn’t going to change the fact that my family will never be the same again. But getting out of bed and pushing forward is going to make the day better for my girls and for me. So that’s what I do.”
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