Justin Sun and Tron’s Use of Kobe Bryant’s Death For Self Promotion Drags Mixed Feelings From The Crypto Community

Yesterday, one of the most successful and popular basketball players, Kobe Bryant, met his tragic demise in a helicopter accident.

While the world is mourning his passing, TRON’s Justin Sun quickly dedicated the next niTROn conference to the legendary player. However, the crypto community is divided in its reactions if this is genuine grief or marketing gimmickry.

TRON Dedicates niTROn Summit To Bryant

Kobe Bryant was a legendary former NBA player who spent his full twenty-year career at the Los Angeles Lakers. During that time, he won five championship rings and numerous individual awards. His accolades continued after retiring in 2016 as he even won an Oscar in 2018 for a short animated movie he wrote and produced.

Sadly, the legendary player passed away yesterday in a helicopter crash while traveling with his 13-year-old daughter and a few other passengers.

The world mourns today as Bryant left distinctive marks inside and outside of the basketball field. The cryptocurrency community also reacted, and one of the first was TRON’s Founder and CEO, Justin Sun. He expressed his grief by saying that he will “forever remember us on stage, discussing the future of blockchain.”

Furthermore, the TRON Foundation later noted that Bryant “is a member of the TRON family.” Moreover, the next niTROnSummit’s festivities will be dedicated to “his legendary life & legacy.”

Controversial Reactions

The TRON Foundation’s initiative was met with different reactions by the crypto community. Some consider it as the Foundation is honoring the tragic death of the legendary player. However, others are less positive in their reactions, claiming that TRON is using the accident to promote its upcoming Summit.

What a total psychopath, period http://t.co/9d7SSeqWZ5

— Dovey 以德服人 Wan 🗝 🦖 (@DoveyWan) January 27, 2020

Other members of the cryptocurrency community have also spoken up. Most of them seem to support the notion that Sun’s efforts are driven by his agenda to promote his company, failing to pay the necessary respects in regard to Bryant’s demise.

You are a sick individual @justinsuntron to try to #capitalize off of a death of a hero, his daughter, and the others on board. Come at me brother because 99% of the world has #heart, and you are the 1%. Grow up, and listen with your ears, and not your mouth.

— Mark | Verge(XVG) | Paycent(PYN) | XcelTrip(XLAB) (@VergeCanada) January 26, 2020

This particular reaction could perhaps be anticipated, given Sun’s tendency to overpromote. It all started when Sun paid over $4.6 million to have lunch with one of the world’s most popular investors and billionaires Warren Buffett. At the time, his purported agenda was to convince Buffett of the qualities of blockchain technology.

The meeting, despite having invited prominent members of the crypto community, was for not, as Sun, reportedly, fell ill to kidney stones. Local Chinese outlets, however, had it disclosed that Sun was accused by the 21st Century Business Herald of illegal fundraising through the TRON project, among other things.

In fact, Sun’s tendency to overpromote was touched upon and apologized for by no other but himself. He apologized, admitting that he has been over-marketing and that he feels “ashamed” of it.

His reaction to Bryant’s demise did, in fact, cause mixed feelings within the community. Some people accepted it as genuine, while others condemned it as particularly inappropriate. Given his history, it’s perhaps easy to understand some of the reactions.