Kobe Bryant and Diego Maradona among sports worldâs big losses in 2020 Published: Dec. 31, 2020 at 8:30 a.m. ET By Legendary sporting names Jack Charlton, Gale Sayers, Don Shula, Rafer Johnson, Don Larsen, Joe Morgan, Tom Seaver, John Thompson and Curly Neal also among those who left us during this extraordinary year Miami and Milwaukee players take a knee during the national anthem on Aug. 31 in the NBA playoff bubble in central Florida as a video screen pays tribute to the late Georgetown University coach John Thompson, who had died that day. Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images Email icon There were so many this year.