NBA players help those affected by the pandemic
Photo courtesy of AP Images Graeme Sloan/Sipa. A general view of an illuminated sign at the Capital One Arena – where the NBA’s Washington Wizards, and the NHL’s Washington Capitols both play home games – that reads “ALL EVENTS POSTPONED” amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Washington, D.C., on March 26, 2020.
May 11, 2020
Many sports events came to an indefinite pause due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The NBA still has no clear time frame as to when the season will resume and as days go by, not only will teams suffer from the monetary losses but the employees at the arenas seem to be in limbo.
March 11 was the last day the NBA played their regular-season games.
They were able to get passed the All-Star game, which determines the halfway point of the season, with this game not only did players received a pay cut but the staff in the arena did too.
It was decided that players will be having a 50% cut from their checks, but this will not be stopping arena workers from losing a paycheck.
Zion Williamson, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Lucas Dončić and Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, are among the many NBA standouts to donate.
Williamson, a New Orleans Pelicans rookie, pledged on an Instagram post to pay the salaries of the staff of the Smoothie King Center for a month and Antetokounmpo, from the Milwaukee Bucks, tweeted that he would be donating $100 thousand to the Fiserv Forum staff as well.
Meanwhile, Cuban, Dončić and Dwight Powell from the Dallas Mavericks gave $500 thousand to childcare for healthcare workers.
Former NBA player Jeremy Lin on a piece on The Players Tribute wrote that he would be donating $500 thousand to Direct Relief and Feeding America and would be matching all donations to additional $500,000.
Most recently, Denver Nuggets Point Guard Jamal Murray donated 200 meals to healthcare workers at UCHealth.
As reported by CBSN Denver, the owner of the restaurant Juan Pardo said, “It is something we’re really passionate about…It is important to be part of the healing process and food is a big part of that.”
As the season continues to cancel, there are still many questions and concerns about how the NBA will come back after this pandemic.
Some players were asked if they would play in an empty arena with no fans.
When asked, Lebron James from the Lakers, said he did not like the idea since he loves playing for the fans.
But soon after James changed his mind and expresses that if the season were to continue it would have to be in the franchise’s best interest.
Things are still unclear and with many sports fans wanting to see their favorite team go back to playing, they can only wait and hope that everything gets back to normal soon.
