Famous athletes always seem set apart from the ordinary. Their faces and exploits dance across our televisions. We see and associate them with the ability to perform in their sport with an almost magical transcendence.
Maybe that is why it is so jarring to see them beset by personal tragedy.
Two recent occurrences have driven that point home for me. First, the death of Kobe Bryant and his young daughter, Gianna, followed by the passing of Mikaela Shiffrin’s father, Jeff.
