For some, especially in the state of Colorado, Kobe Bryant’s name doesn’t carry with it much of a positive image. That just might change after watching the video Bryant, considered one of the greatest players to ever grace a basketball court, sent to Colorado State forward Emmanuel Omogbo, who lost four family members in Maryland house fire on Jan. 19.

Shout out to @kobebryant for reaching out and I appreciate it🐍💯🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/iTYxlKphxI — IG: Eomogbo_15 (@longmoney_e) January 31, 2016

Omogbo’s story has gone viral since the news was broken on the morning of Jan. 19. He has received heartfelt messages from a number of people on Twitter, and a GoFundMe was created to help Omogbo and his family pay for funeral, medical and housing expenses. The page has received $97,750 in donations, crushing the initial goal of $10,000.

Donations can be made at https://www.gofundme.com/omogbo.


Collegian Senior Sports Reporter Keegan Pope can be reached at kpope@collegian.com and on Twitter @ByKeeganPope.