Jazz C RUDY GOBERT is "donating over $500,000 in the wake of his positive test for the novel coronavirus," according to Andy Larsen of the SALT LAKE TRIBUNE. A donation of $200,000 "will go to part-time Vivint Smart Home Arena employees who will be impacted by the arena’s cancelation of all events there through the end of April." Donations of $100K each "will go to families impacted by COVID-19 in the states of Utah and Oklahoma, the latter where Gobert was diagnosed with the virus." Another 100K euros "will be donated to families in France affected by the disease" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 3/15).
Love is donating $100,000 to the Cavaliers' arena staff while play is suspended for the time beingNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
HELPING HAND: In N.Y., Dennis Young notes Bucks F GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO and Cavaliers F KEVIN LOVE each announced that they were "donating $100,000 to their teams’ arena staffs while play is suspended." Pelicans F ZION WILLIAMSON "went even further, saying he’d cover a month of wages" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/14). In Milwaukee, Matt Velazquez noted Antetokounmpo "got the ball rolling" with his pledge on Friday, and later in the day, Bucks F KHRIS MIDDLETON "added $100,000 of his own." By Saturday morning, the whole Bucks team "joined the cause of making sure the 1,000-plus hourly workers at Fiserv Forum are taken care of during the NBA's hiatus due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis." Every player on the roster "pledged to make a donation and those contributions will be matched by the organization to create a fund to pay workers during what will be at least a 30-day period without NBA games" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 3/15). In Detroit, Rod Beard noted Pistons F BLAKE GRIFFIN is "planning to donate $100,000 to help in compensating the workers at Little Caesars Arena" (DETROIT NEWS, 3/14).
FOR A GOOD CAUSE: T'Wolves C KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS said that he is "donating $100,000 to the Mayo Clinic and its efforts to help combat coronavirus." He added that his donation will "help Mayo Clinic increase its testing capacity from 200 per day to over 1,000 in coming weeks" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 3/16). In Pittsburgh, Matt Vensel noted the Penguins "plan to pay full-time and part-time arena and service employees at PPG Paints Arena." The team said that the "funding will come from Penguins players, the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation and the Mario Lemieux Foundation" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 3/14). Baseball HOFer FERGIE JENKINS said that for the next week, he will "donate all proceeds from his Cameo account to Cubs and Sloan Park employees unable to work during baseball’s hiatus resulting from the coronavirus" (NBCSPORTSCHICAGO.com, 3/15).
PROVIDING FOOD: Texans DE J.J. WATT and his wife, NWSL Chicago Red Stars F KEALIA OHAI, have "personally donated $350,000" to the Houston Food Bank, "providing over one million meals for those in need" (TWITTER.com, 3/15). In Sacramento, Jason Anderson noted the NBA Kings have "donated thousands of pounds of food this week to local organizations to help feed those in the community who have been impacted by the coronavirus outbreak." The Kings said that they "donated nearly 1,000 pounds of prepared food to the Sacramento Food Bank" after their game against the Pelicans was postponed Wednesday (SACRAMENTO BEE, 3/14). In San Jose, Michael Nowels noted Warriors G STEPHEN CURRY and his wife, AYESHA, released a video "asking fans to join in support for the kids of the Oakland Unified School District who rely on receiving meals from their schools." The Currys are "apparently using their youth-focused organization Eat, Learn, Play to donate to the food bank" (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 3/15).
