Kobe Bryant will receive the 72nd Los Angeles Area Emmy Governors Award in recognition “of philanthropy, community building and inspiration that extended beyond the basketball court,” the Television Academy announced Wednesday.
The award is given to individuals, companies or organizations that have made “an outstanding, innovative and visionary achievement in the arts, sciences or management of television as well as a substantial contribution to the greater Los Angeles area.”
Nominated posthumously by Spectrum SportsNet, Bryant is being recognized for his charitable efforts across Southern California. Among them, the Academy said, “he championed a number of worthy causes and critical issues, becoming an ambassador for women’s basketball, a mentor and youth advocate, and raised awareness of homelessness in Los Angeles.”
The award will be presented during the 2020 Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards, streaming July 18 at 7:00 p.m. on the official Emmys website.
Bryant and his teenage daughter Gianna were killed with seven others in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, on Jan. 26. The group was on their way to a basketball practice at Bryant’s Mamba Academy in nearby Thousand Oaks. He’s survived by his wife Vanessa and three other daughters: Natalia, 17; Bianca, 3; and baby Capri.