ABC Suspends Journalist for False Report That 4 of Kobe Bryant's Children Were Killed in Fatal Helicopter Crash

As the tragic news of Kobe Bryant's passing was beginning to unfold, a false report circulated, via ABC News' Matt Gutman, that four of Bryant's children were involved in the helicopter accident.

This, thankfully, proved to be false by officials at the crash site. While Kobe and Gianna were both tragically taken from us too soon, Vanessa's three other children were unharmed, as they were not flying with their father at the time.

ABC has stepped in after receiving plenty of backlash, suspending Gutman indefinitely.

Gutman would later admit the error, but the damage had already been done. In ABC's rush to be first, they finished last, and were on the receiving end of some predictable backlash.

Some have turned this into an indictment of the media as a whole, and while there's some merit to that, in large part it's an overgeneralization. In this case, one journalist made an unforgivable mistake, while most reputable sources kept a high standard until there were multiple verified reports to back up this unfortunate tragedy.