“You Gotta Be My Idol”: How Kobe Bryant’s Death Forced Jazz Chisholm to Change His Idol to Derek Jeter

Published 04/19/2024, 7:30 AM EDT

Everyone dreams of meeting their idol. It’s one of the purest emotions to see them speak and learn from someone you adored growing up. Miami Marlins’ Jazz Chisholm was one of those dreamers who wanted to meet NBA legend Kobe Bryant. However, things took a tragic turn for him, which led him towards Hall-of-Famer Derek Jeter.

The Marlins star appeared on The Pivot Podcast a few weeks ago. While discussing his baseball journey and all the life-changing moments, Chisholm shared an emotional story about how he almost met Kobe Bryant. He had dreamt of sitting in front of the LA Lakers legend since his childhood but in one moment that dream vanished.

Jeter had just traded Chisholm to the Marlins. But, as Chisholm said, Bryant was his focus. “2020 came around, and like I said, Kobe was my number one idol,” Chisholm said. “I go to LA; I go to the Mamba Academy, and this was like two days before he died. I went to the Mamba Academy, and I met him right; and I wanted to ask him some questions, but he said he had to go.”

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Chisholm was getting ready to meet Bryant on Sunday when the crash happened. “Sunday I’m supposed to go and talk to Kobe; it’s like, ‘Okay, my dream is about to come true. I’m about to meet my idol, about to talk to my idol.’ Then the helicopter crash happens,” Chisholm revealed. The star then shared that he was in tears and decided to call Derek Jeter.

“My idol died, and I said you got to step up to be my idol,” Chisholm shared his conversation with Jeter. Derek Jeter agreed, and from that day on, the young Marlins rookie had found a huge supporter in him.

How Derek Jeter fulfilled his role as Jazz Chisholm’s mentor/idol

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Jazz Chisholm candidly expressed that Jeter treated him “like his son.” However, the two constantly bickered about Chisholm’s off-the-field lifestyle. While Jeter was all about following rules and taking the straightforward path, Chisholm believed in doing things his way. And that led to some heated conversations, but the two never took things personally. Especially because, on the field, their beliefs usually aligned.

As a result, despite Jeter having exited the Marlins, Chisholm still talks to him. While the Marlins hitter wishes that Jeter was still there, he’s happy with the way the New York Yankees legend helped shape his career. While the tragedy of Bryant’s demise cannot be put into words, Jeter stepping up the way he did certainly helped Chisholm. And sometimes, that’s all one needs.

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Sanskar Dubey is an MLB writer at EssentiallySports. From writing various aspects of baseball like MLB Rule Modifications to diving deep into the world of minor and major leagues, Sanskar covers it all. He loves to write for the sport when there is a hot tussle between the National League and American League throughout the season.

“You Gotta Be My Idol”: How Kobe Bryant’s Death Forced Jazz Chisholm to Change His Idol to Derek Jeter

How Derek Jeter fulfilled his role as Jazz Chisholm’s mentor/idol

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