Former NBAer Stephon Marbury said that he has "made arrangements with a mask supplier in China willing to sell New York 10 million masks 'at cost' for $2.75 each -- well below the roughly $7.50" that the N95 masks typically retail for, in an effort to equip "hospital workers and other first responders." The masks "would be delivered 2 million at a time over five weeks." Marbury currently coaches Chinese Basketball Association club Beijing Royal Fighters (N.Y. POST, 3/30)....Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni and his wife, Laurel, "donated $100,000 to the Greater Houston Community Association" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 3/28)....New Balance has "begun developing and manufacturing facial masks, in an effort to assist with the high demand for medical supplies" (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/29)....The Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation "raised $20,000" from the auction of green St. Patrick’s Day jerseys the team was scheduled to wear March 15 against the Islanders and "donated $5,000 each to the Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, Western PA Diaper Bank, Rainbow Kitchen and Salvation Army carry-out meal program" (PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 3/28).
HELP FROM FOOTBALL PLAYERS: Bears WR Allen Robinson, through his Within Reach Foundation, has "partnered with the Greater Chicago Food Depository to supplement students who rely on daily meals at school." Robinson "pledged to match the first $12,000 in donations." OT Charles Leno and coach Matt Nagy "quickly stepped up with money for the cause too." Nagy "matched Robinson's pledge with $12,000 of his own." As of Sunday morning, "nearly $10,000 had been raised" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 3/30)....Raiders QB Marcus Mariota's Motiv8 Foundation will "join with other community entities in underwriting 1,000 free grab-and-go meals a day Monday through Friday for at least 43 days at Kauluwela and Palolo Elementary Schools" in Honolulu (Honolulu STAR-ADVERTISER, 3/29)....Cardinals WR DeAndre Hopkins tweeted Friday that he will "donate $150,000 to the Arizona Coronavirus Relief Fund" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 3/28)....Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence and his girlfriend, Marissa, announced on social media that they have "restarted their efforts to raise money for those affected by the coronavirus." The fund is "being managed by the Cartersville-Bartow Community Foundation" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 3/29).
NBA GIVING: Lakers F Anthony Davis partnered with cold food storage company Lineage Logistics in "hopes of helping" healthcare workers and the economy. The first arm of the partnership will "help Staples Center workers find jobs with Lineage, which has about 300 jobs to fill" in the L.A. area. Lineage's HR department "worked with AEG to set up a special application link for arena workers to identify themselves as Staples Center employees for consideration for the available jobs." Davis and Lineage also will "match up to $250,000 in donations for Feed the Frontlines LA, an organization trying to raise money to purchase food from local restaurants and deliver it to hospital workers" (L.A. TIMES, 3/28)....The Heat also partnered with Lineage Logistics and Feeding America, with the team and the Micky & Madeleine Arison Family pledging "a $200,000 donation to Feeding South Florida." Lineage Logistics will "match that $200,000 donation." The "goal of the partnership is to raise awareness for Lineage Logistics' Share A Meal campaign" (MIAMI HERALD, 3/28)....Knicks Fs Julius Randle and Bobby Portis have "teamed up with Hello Fresh" to donate $180,000 worth of meals to City Harvest to "help feed New Yorkers" (N.Y. POST, 3/28).
A GRAND GESTURE IN ITALY: Cristiano Ronaldo and his Juventus teammates, along with coach Maurizio Sarri, agreed to forgo $100M in wages to "help the club during the coronavirus crisis." The club said that the money "amounted to four months worth of wages, a third of players' salaries." The first agreement of its kind in Serie A "since play was halted three weeks ago means Ronaldo, the highest-paid player in the Italian league, will give up" more than $11M (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/29).
