Kobe’s teammates and rivals remember him; Philly tax sparked a war with 'Big Soda’ | Morning Newsletter

For today’s newsletter, my colleagues talked with those who knew Kobe Bryant. Some were his contemporaries, trying to outmatch him in high school gyms and NBA arenas. Others looked up to him as inspiration. And more remember what it was like to watch him play basketball.

Also, Philadelphia’s soda tax remains somewhat of an anomaly in the United States, Wildwood readies for President Donald Trump’s visit tonight, and Mayor Jim Kenney is engaged to be married.

— Josh Rosenblat (@joshrosenblat, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

Guy Stewart’s voice cracked with emotion as he spoke. He was talking about his teammate. He was talking about Kobe Bryant. Before the NBA titles and All-Star Games, Bryant starred at Lower Merion High School, where he and Stewart were teammates for three seasons.

“It’s such a huge loss for everybody,” Stewart said. “It was bigger than basketball, deeper than basketball.”

Stewart and other Lower Merion athletes spoke about Bryant’s impact on them and the community. They told stories of a phone call before the 2006 state championship game, about unexpectedly running into Bryant as he practiced at the gym that now bears his name, and about the conversations that made him both larger than life and “down to earth.”

A makeshift memorial full of bouquets and basketballs sat outside Bryant Gymnasium. And the school held a moment of silence yesterday morning for 33 seconds, a reference to the number Bryant wore when he played there.

REMEMBERING KOBE:

“People will always remember how we competed against each other in the league, but it goes so much deeper than that for me." — Sixers great Allen Iverson

“He was the perfect basketball player. If you’re trying to program a basketball player — how can you put the right attributes into a perfect basketball player — that was Kobe.” — Donnie Carr, a La Salle assistant coach who experienced Bryant’s evolution when they competed in high school

“How he accomplished it, his hard work, his tenacity, his passion, getting the most out of his talent. The Philadelphia roots. We all lost someone that was special to us, special to this area, special to the league.” — Sixers GM Elton Brand

“The series ended in five games, and Bryant became a Philly villain of Dallas Cowboy proportions. He tried to soften that image the past few years, and it worked. He was cheered when he played his last game in Philly, on Dec. 1, 2015. He wasn’t a returning hero; rather, an appreciated foe.” — sports columnist Marcus Hayes

“You could tell right away, this kid was going to go pro. Like after two practices. It was weird.” — ex-NFL player Matt Snider, a teammate of Bryant’s at Lower Merion

"Growing up in Philly, it was always like, ‘Why do you like the Lakers?’ I was always, ‘Kobe.’” — Archbishop Wood basketball player Jaylen Stinson

“When I had him as a junior, you could put a couple guys on him and guard him. When I had him as a senior, you could put three guys on him, and you couldn’t guard him. That’s how good he was.” — retired high school referee Jim Beatty

Philadelphia became the first big U.S. city to pass a soda tax in 2016. And in 2020, Philadelphia remains the only east coast city to do so. Overall, seven cities levy a tax on soda distribution, according to a Washington think tank.

After Mayor Jim Kenney’s signature policy achievement passed, the soda industry mounted an effective counter-offensive. For example, “Big Soda” has backed “preemption” legislation that bans municipalities from passing new taxes in Arizona, California, Michigan, and Washington. Despite the tax in Philly, an expert on food nutrition studies and public health says that the industry’s recent political victories have put it ahead in the war over taxing soda.

“The living came to this place of death like the day’s last, golden light," wrote my colleague Jason Nark. "Children and grandchildren walked beside survivors or pushed their wheelchairs into buildings made of brick and hatred, proof that the Nazis couldn’t turn every family, every future, to ash.”

Nark was in Oswiecim, Poland, yesterday at a ceremony to commemorate the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp 75 years ago. Nearly 200 survivors gather in southern Poland, including David Wisnia, 93, of Levittown. Most survivors are, like Wisnia, in their 90s now. And the World Jewish Congres believes that no Holocaust survivors will remain in 25 years.

“I feel a great responsibility,” said Avi Wisnia, David’s grandson. “My grandfather’s story is my story. It’s the story of my family. I’m very aware that when he dies, I need to keep the memory alive, and the story alive, and these experiences alive.”

More shots from this weekend’s Lunar New Year celebrations, courtesy of @t.do___. Thanks for sharing!

Tag your Instagram posts or tweets with #OurPhilly and we’ll pick our favorite each day to feature in this newsletter and give you a shout out!

“Kobe and I were not friends. The reason I was crying then was because I was thankful that I got to tuck in my daughter and kiss her goodnight, and sorry the kid from my English class doesn’t.” — Dan Gross, a former Daily News columnist, about Kobe Bryant, his classmate at Lower Merion High School.

Mara Isaacs of Princeton added a Grammy last weekend to go along with her Tonys. Isaacs produced Hadestown, which won a Grammy Award for best cast album. The Inquirer tagged along with her last year during Tony Awards week, when Isaacs’ show won eight of its 14 nominations.