The sporting world has come to a complete standstill due to the Coronavirus outbreak. And people whose livelihood hinges around the NBA has also thus come under certain uncertainties and threat. These people include ground/arena staff, ushers, ticket takers, janitorial staff, freelance journalists, etc. This list just goes on and on. But there is still some hope alive for them. As several players(including Giannis Antetokounmpo & Zion Williamson) since Thursday morning have come forward with big paychecks and love to help those in need.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Zion Williamson to the rescue
Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo is the latest star to follow Kevin Love’s footsteps as he pledges to donate $100,000 to the Fiserv Forum staff to help them out during the NBA’s suspension.
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The Greek Freek announced this decision on Twitter
It’s bigger than basketball! And during this tough time I want to help the people that make my life, my family’s lives and my teammates lives easier. Me and my family pledge to donate $100,000 to the Fiserv Forum staff. We can get through this together! 🙏🏽
— Giannis Antetokounmpo (@Giannis_An34) March 13, 2020
Safe to say, Kevin Love was certainly happy seeing big names following his righteous path. Notably, Love was the first player to donate money when on Thursday he announced his own $100,000 donation to Cavs staff at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Love after this told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, “My hope is that others will step up!”
This event by Love certainly triggered a trend among other players to donate money to their respective arenas staff. And to continue this good trend, New Oreland Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson also came forward and pledged to cover the salaries of Smoothie King Center workers for 30 days. Zion announced this on his Instagram.
As the No. 1 overall pick, Williamson is set to make $9.757 million this year as a part of his four-year, $44.2 million deal. He also has endorsement deals with Jordan, Gatorade, Panini America, Mercedes-Benz, Fanatics, Beats, Mountain Dew and 2K Sports.
Detroit Pistons power forward Blake Griffin also pledged $100,000 to help staff at Little Ceasars Arena. He announced this on Twitter on Friday, saying he was following Kevin Love’s lead.
Hope is that with this indefinite suspension(at least 30 days) franchise owners will also stand up and join this cause.
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