NBA News: Spencer Dinwiddie Calls to Unite Key Stakeholders on Twitter Over COVID-19 Aid

Coronavirus has certainly taken a huge toll on sports landscapes all around the world. This pandemic is now not just limited to empty stadiums or arenas. It has also led to the suspension of some of the biggest sports leagues all around the world including NBA.

While understanding its effect on fans, players and franchises, we also have to understand the severe consequences of it on the common people who indulge in Grassroot level activities. This includes support staff, ushers, ticketing, arena management, freelance journalists, etc.

Ultimately these will be the people that are gonna suffer from this halt in NBA.

If you think that players are gonna suffer from paycheck cut or something like this. Then you should think again because according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks. There is a provision in the CBA that calls for players to continue to get paid when games are not being played due to a “Force Majeure Event”. That makes it impossible for the NBA to continue playing. The rule specifically sites epidemics as a situation where the players still get paid.

Spencer Dinwiddie & Mark Cuban: The Return Of Hope for NBA

But there is still some hope for all those support staff. With Mavericks owner Mark Cuban driving the path by saying he will ensure his hourly workers are paid through the month’s end. Many NBA players are now calling for their team to go with the same pattern.

“Gotta take care of the non salary arena staff etc,” Brooklyn Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie shared his concern. Thursday morning on Twitter.

After this tweet from Spencer, there was literally a war on his timeline between people doing ‘whataboutery’ and those who resonated with this call of Spencer.

It could be best summed up with this reply of Dinwiddie:

Amid this twitter war, the hope returned when Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai who himself is a billionaire and co-founder of E-commerce giant Alibaba, showed total agreement with Spencer. Joe assured him that the team is planning on something about this.

There are definitely lot of people whose livelihoods hinge around the NBA. And they will be impacted by this delay, necessary though it is.

But the efforts of teams and players to solve the crisis for these vulnerable people. And help them in every way possible is definitely the thing sports need in this difficult time.