Kobe Bryant on the importance of mental health, Kanye West's slavery remarks

LOS ANGELES — Lakers legend Kobe Bryant surprised a group of about 300 high school students at WE RISE—a 10 day pop-up festival of art and community-building dedicated to sparking a movement for change in the mental health system—in Downtown Los Angeles.

The sports legend spoke about the importance of mental health, sharing personal stories about the ways he deals with feelings of insecurity and negativity, recalling how he felt as an 18 year-old in his first NBA playoffs with the Lakers and shooting “6-7 air balls in front of millions of people.”

“It’s easy for us as people to kind of ignore the emotional side of it, especially when it comes to things that deal with negativity, things that deal with insecurity, things that deal with fear," said Bryant. "It’s very easy to take the fear and just push it down, try to act like it doesn’t exist. The reason why it starts with imagination is because you first must imagine the life that you want to have. You must first imagine what it is you dream of becoming.”

When a high school reporter asked Kobe about Kanye West’s controversial comments, Kobe spoke out candidly about his staunch disagreement with Kanye on the issue, asking the crowd of young people, “what the hell is [he] talking about?”

"I'm sure the same way everybody else here in this room feels. What the hell are you talking about? I think that was my reaction as is everybody else's reaction.The thing about our country is that you have the right to say whatever it is that you want to saythat's the beautiful thing about living in a democracy. I think, for him, he's one of these entertainers that's always in a constant state of growth, he's always challenging ... himself, doing a lot of questioning internally himselfso I just take it for what it is and completely disagree,” Bryant said.

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, WE RISE will feature over 150+ artists presenting original pieces of art, over 50-hours of creative programming and workshops along with other performances and panels with the biggest names in pop culture, art, activism, and sports focused on using the arts to break stigmas around mental health, especially in youth communities.

WE RISE is free and open to the public and will run until Monday, May 28th. WE RISE is a project of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health and its WHY WE RISE campaign. For a calendar of events, please click here.

What are your thoughts on mental health awareness? Let me know on Twitter at @JeffGSpursZone.

Photo/Video Credit: WE RISE Los Angeles