Oscars 2020: Former NFL WR Matthew Cherry dons Kobe Bryant jersey at Academy Awards win

Just under three weeks after the tragic death of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, the tributes keep pouring in for one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. Former NFL wide receiver Matthew Cherry was the latest to join the list of tributees for the Lakers great. Matthew Cherry won an Oscar for his animated short titled Hair Love. In his acceptance speech, the ex-Bengals man dedicated the award to Kobe Bryant.

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Oscars 2020: Former NFL wide receiver dedicates Oscar to Kobe Bryant

Matthew Cherry took time out of his acceptance speech at Oscars 2020 to dedicate the award for Hair Love to Kobe Bryant. In his acceptance speech, the former NFL wide receiver said, “This award is dedicated to Kobe, may we all have a second act as great as his.” Interestingly, Matthew Cherry is now just the second former pro athlete to win the Best Animated Short Film after Kobe Bryant. Kobe Bryant won the award three years earlier for his animated short titled Dear Basketball.

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Oscars 2020: Mathew Cherry predicted winning the Academy Awards in 2012

Interestingly, Matthew Cherry predicted he would win an Oscar way back in 2012. His animated short film Hair Love was given legs by a kickstarter campaign, which then raised the highest amount ever raised for a short film on any platform. When asked about the motivation behind filming the Oscar-winning short film, Matthew Cherry said that a lack of representation in mainstream animation was the primary reason for doing the project.

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Matthew Cherry started his NFL career with the Jacksonville Jaguars back in 2004. However, Cherry was then waived by the Jaguars and subsequently re-signed to the Jaguars’ practice squad. The Cincinnati Bengals then opted to sign him to their active roster in December 2004.

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