Zion Williamson, Giannis Antetokounmpo Among NBA Players Donating Money To Arena Employees

Ron Gutterman
7 Min Read
Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

More so than players or fans, perhaps the people most greatly affected by the NBA’s suspension due to the spread of coronavirus are the arena workers that will be out of work for a minimum of 30 days.

Even though a few team owners have stepped up to make a commitment to these workers, many have not, leading to players like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Zion Williamson to make statements of their own.

Antetokounmpo, Kevin Love, and Blake Griffin have all pledged $100,000 to help arena workers affected by the hiatus with Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry being the only one of those three team’s owners pledging to match their players’ donation. Williamson, on the other hand, is committing to singlehandedly cover all arena employees at the Smoothie King Center for the next 30 days.

Love was the first player to do this, saying that pandemics like this are beyond just a health crisis as they affect every aspect of daily life, via Instagram:

Griffin very quickly followed suit, pledging to match Love’s donation to workers at Little Caesars Arena, via Twitter:

Antetokounmpo came next, saying this is a bigger than basketball situation by donating $100,000 to the Fiserv Forum employees, via Twitter:

Finally, Williamson chimed in with the grandest gesture of all, referencing the plight of workers at Smoothie King Center who are still not fully recovered from Hurricane Katrina and the resilience of the city, via Instagram:

All four of these players have made a great sacrifice in this situation, recognizing they have more than enough money to get through this crisis. Meanwhile, those who work at every event at those arenas may not have the means to go 30 days without a paycheck.

While it is slightly disappointing to see owners of these teams not step up, there is a silver lining with the players doing whatever they can. Perhaps more players and teams will continue this trend over the next 30 days.

Ron Gutterman is a Washington State University alum from Anaheim, California, and is currently a Staff Writer for LakersNation.com, RamsNewsWire.com, and RaidersNewsWire.com. He is also the lead editor for AngelsNation.com. With Lakers Nation, Rams News Wire, Raiders News Wire, and Angels Nation, Ron assists in news, game coverage, analysis, and hot takes via his Twitter account, @rongutterman24. Without a doubt, Ron's favorite Laker, and favorite athlete of all time, is Kobe Bryant. Ron began watching basketball when he was 6 years old, in 2005, when Bryant was dragging the likes of Smush Parker and Ronny Turiaf to playoff spots. Ron's all time favorite Lakers moment was Bryant's final game when he dropped 60 points. While the Lakers beating the Celtics in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, as Metta World Peace hit the game clinching three, will always be a top option, Bryant's final night takes the cake. Contact: ron@mediumlargela.com
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