It’s mid-March, and what is normally the start of one of the great three-month stretches on the sports calendar is now uncertain. With everything suspended, cancelled or the like across the United States and beyond, it’s leaving the gameday workers and all the other behind-the-scenes folks who collect paychecks at these events in a precarious position. While some billionaire owners are setting up for such events, you’d like to think all others would step up, too.
The pro athletes they pay certainly have. Across the country we’ve seen players donate money and meals on a large scale to ensure those most affected by these shutdowns can get by. We’re sure we’ll have missed a few, here are a smattering of players to step up in a time of need:
Kevin Love: Others followed suit by their own accord, but Love is the de facto face of what has become a beautiful NBA movement. The Cavaliers star pledged $100,000 to the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse workers before owner Dan Gilbert said all of their paychecks would be covered.
Zion Williamson: One of the first athletes to publicly announce his intentions, the Pelicans’ rookie is covering the pay of all Smoothie Center workers for the next 30 days, which basically covers what would have been the rest of the regular season. At just 19 years old and having played all of 19 NBA games in his career, this budding superstar just gets it.
Giannis Antetokounmpo: On the same day Love and Williamson announced they would help pay the gameday workers in their respective cities, the reigning MVP did the same in Milwaukee. Antetokounmpo pledged $100,000 to the staff at Fiserv Forum. Shortly thereafter, teammate Khris Middleton did the same, and the Bucks announced they would match.
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 Ugo Antetokounmpo (@Giannis_An34) March 13, 2020
Steph Curry: The two-time MVP and his wife, Ayesha, started the Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation to fight childhood hunger. In wake of the Oakland area schools closing for the foreseeable future, the two announced that the foundation would be donating to the county’s food bank to ensure all the students who need meals, get them. With over 18,000 students in the school system, counting breakfast and lunch, they’ll donate around one million meals over the next month or so.
The Warriors also donated $1 million to a disaster relief fund the organization’s foundation started. The Mavericks and Hawks organizations also donated money.
Rudy Gobert: The video of the Jazz big man touching all the microphones on his way out of a press conference, only to test positive for COVID-19 two days later, will live with him forever. However, his actions since then have been admirable. His apology appeared sincere, and he backed it up with a $500,000 donation to a variety of causes: paying employees at Vivint Smart Home Arena and foundations dedicated to fighting the coronavirus in Utah, Oklahoma City and France.
JJ Watt & Kealia Ohai: The newlyweds didn’t announce this publicly themselves, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Texans’ All-Pro and the Chicago Red Stars (and formerly Houston Dash) midfielder would donate $350,000 to the Houston Food Bank. Like the Currys, that money is expected to cover around one million meals.
If you recall, Watt also led the charge in the post-Hurricane Harvey donation efforts, helping raise over $41 million in aid.
George Springer: Astros these days aren’t exactly fan favorites. However, George Springer should get some praise for his $100,000 pledge to the workers at Minute Maid Park, with the start of baseball pushed back for at least a few weeks, if not months.
Some other athletes to donate include Blake Griffin, Spencer Dinwiddie, Alex Bregman, Karl-Anthony Towns and Jeremy Lin, among others.
