OPINION | Mourning Kobe Bryant's death doesn’t make us less African

The death of Lakers star Kobe Bryant sent shock waves across the world and had local social media in a frenzy, but it also started a massive debate over who can mourn his death and who can't.

The conversation started pretty much from the moment the first tributes from South African fans began to flood timelines on 26 January.

“Do you even know who Kobe is?”

“Do you even watch basketball?”

Suddenly it became a competition of who was the bigger fan, and thus more deserving of paying tribute.

According to some on social media, being South African meant you couldn't have a hero who is not from Mzansi, as if it was some sort of betrayal to be inspired by someone who wasn't from our country.

It was disheartening to see people relegate Kobe's character to just an American basketball player, without looking at his outreach around the world and his role as a dad to his four daughters.

He was not perfect. Far from it- as his sexual assault case in 2003 showed- but there is no hiding from the fact that he was a role model for many of his fans.

He was #Goals, whether he was sitting with his children courtside or taking a moment to speak to an expecting journalist about the joys of having daughters.

A spicy Twitter exchange between Robert Marawa and poet Ntsiki Mazwai catapulted the debate over whether it is right to mourn Kobe to the next level, nearly collapsing the internet in the process.

A few days later it was Tbo Touch's turn to get heat for travelling to LA to pay tribute to Kobe.

He told TshisaLIVE  he had no regrets about his decision, and said the star was more than a basketball player to him.

“Kobe Bryant is more than basketball to me. He’s the epitome of excellence and a very present father. I look up to him.”

Musician Kabomo brought another aspect to the debate when he remarked: “So, it's OK that you consume their (American) music, watch their films and TV shows, read their books, get a quick McDonald's after work, wear their clothes, even use their slang, but it's wrong to mourn them when they die?”

The thing is, you can be proudly South African and still appreciate a global icon. It is short-sighted and ignorant to think otherwise.

We live in a world where sport is broadcast to all corners of the earth, where breaking news in Europe or Asia can be streamed in a country thousands of kilometres away, and yet we are not allowed to mourn a global icon because it will make us less African?

We have to suppress our feelings and emotional connections because the next person will think we are “attention-seekers or clout-chasers”?

Welcome to 2020. We are here, and we are global.