Sunday night, several pieces of Kobe Bryant memorabilia from his days at Lower Merion High School were stolen from a display case in the high school. This comes off the heels of someone stealing Tom Brady’s Patriots jersey after Super Bowl LI.
In an email sent to parents, school officials told them that a lock was broken outside the gymnasium. Of the things that were stolen out of “Kobe’s Shrine” were a replica of Kobe’s high school jersey, their 1996 PIAA State Championship trophy as well as the net from the title game and some autographed Nike sneakers by Kobe.
Police are currently investigating the incident that happened the night of the Super Bowl. And there was surveillance video inside and outside of the school.
The motive seems to be unclear at the moment but if it was for financial gain by selling these items in the memorabilia market, they are going to be out of luck. The items stolen had more personal and intrinsic value than monetary value.
“It’s a replica jersey, it’s not even the jersey he wore in high school,” said [Doug] Young, a high school teammate of Bryant. “I’m not sure what someone would do with a state championship trophy. For us, the items are important because they represent some really wonderful memories.”
“Material items can be replaced and we will make every effort to restore and even enhance the contents of the case with the help of alumni and friends,” principal Sean Hughes and athletics director Don Walsh said in the joint email to parents. “And even if we cannot replace all the items, the moments that produced them are still very much alive in our memories and honored through the ongoing traditions of Aces Nation.”
The important thing was that nobody was harmed but it is still a sad situation. Kobe at Lower Merion is a point of pride to students and the community. They get the chance to remember a legend before he became an NBA star and was just a regular student. If police and the school are unable to replace the items, the physical items may go away but the memories will still live forever.
