Pietrus Honors Memory of Flight 447

Mickael Pietrus honors the victimes of Flight 447 with his shoes.

LOS ANGELES -- Mickael Pietrus is from France, and his nickname is "Air France."

So, it's no wonder he felt the need to honor the memory of Air France Flight 447, which crashed over the Atlantic Ocean on Monday en route from Rio De Janeiro to Paris, killing everyone on board.

Pietrus wore sneakers with the No. 447 on the sides in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday at Staples Center.

"I have a nickname: Air France," Pietrus said. "I wanted to send my prayers to all those people who lost their lives on that plane. You realize how life can be. I know that families are having hard times right now and hopefully they'll have better days in the future."

Pietrus had been wearing a shoe endorsed by Kobe Bryant for the entire season but said before Game 1 that he was going to ditch that pair for the Finals. Pietrus said he'll be wearing the No. 447 shoes for the remainder of the series.

"It could be any family that it happened to," Pietrus said. "Life is short and sometimes people suffer. And you've got to try to do the right thing."

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