We are living in some weird times, to say the least. Seemingly out of nowhere, the NBA season was shut down due to the Coronavirus. Pretty well every single league followed suit and now we're all stuck at home with no sports to watch. In light of this, many franchises have had to make some harsh operating decisions. Yesterday, Joshua Harris, the owner of the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia 76ers, revealed that he would be cutting salaries by 20 percent for all staff who makes over $50,000 per year.
Harris was immediately ripped apart on Twitter for the decision. Considering he is worth in the billions of dollars, fans felt like he was taking advantage of the situation and that he could afford to pay the workers, regardless. Even Joel Embiid had to get involved and offered up $500,000 for those who would be affected.
Today, Harris decided to change his mind and offered a statement noting that no one's salary would be taking nosedive. "After listening to our staff and players, it's clear that was the wrong decision. We have reversed it and will be paying these employees their full salary," Sixers ownership explained.
Once again, Twitter proves itself to be an undefeated force. If we all come together, sometimes we can actually make real change.
Zion Williamson Offers To Pay Pelicans’ Workers Salaries During NBA Suspension
Zion a real one.
In response to the coronavirus shutting down the NBA season for now, Zion Williamson announced last night that he'll cover the salaries of all Smoothie King Center workers for the next 30 days.
Taking to Instagram, Zion wrote: ”The people of New Orleans have been incredibly welcoming and supportive since I was Drafted by the Pels last June, and some of the most special people I have met are those who work at smoothie King Center," Williamson wrote. "These are the folks who make our games possible, creating the perfect environment for our fans and everyone involved in the organization. Unfortunately, many of them are still recovering from long term challenges created by Katrina, and now face the economic impact of the postponement of games because of the virus.”
Williamson said the donation was inspired by his mother, and is a small way to express his support and appreciation for their hard work.
“My mother has always set an example for me about being respectful for others and being grateful for what we have, and so today I am pledging to cover the salaries for all of those Smoothie King Center workers for the next 30 days. This is a small way for me to express my support and appreciation for these wonderful people who have been so great to me and my teammates and hopefully we can all join together to relieve some of the stress and hardship caused by this national health crisis,” he wrote.
The Pelicans responded to Williamson's actions, tweeting out:
In addition to Zion, Giannis Antetekounmpo is also giving back to his Milwaukee family. He tweeted out that he and his family will donate $100,000 to those who work at Fiserv Forum, while Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love said on Instagram he was doing the same for those who work at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.