Are you crushed by the ultimate bracket buster, the cancellation of March Madness? Worried about the coronavirus and bummed out by all the news of infections, deaths, quarantines and the shutting down of sports? In need of a feel-good story on the sports pages in these trying times? Amid the crisis, Kevin Love is providing one.
Many part-time and hourly wage earners at NBA arenas are worried about their impending loss of income and how they'll pay their bills and support their families. In Cleveland, it's Love to the rescue.
The Cavaliers forward pledged to donate $100,000 to arena workers in his city who are affected by the suspension of the NBA season. Dan Cancian has the story in the Newsweek magazine online sports section:
"To mitigate the issue, Love has vowed to donate a six-figure sum to workers at the Quickens Loan Arena, where the Cavs play their home games.
"The fear and anxiety resulting from the recent outbreak of COVID-19 can be extremely overwhelming," the 2016 NBA champion wrote in an Instagram post on Thursday to announce the donation.
"Through the game of basketball, we've been able to address major issues and stand together as a progressive league that cares about the players, the fans, and the communities where we work."
Through the @KevinLoveFund and in support of the @Cavs arena and support staff, the NBA veteran is donating $100,000. He urges others to join with him and support their communities "during this time of crisis."
The Cavaliers thanked Love for making a huge "clutch" play:
Broadcaster Taylor Rooks commented, “Kevin Love is everything that’s good about the NBA. He’s everything that’s good about people. He shows it time and time again, This pandemic is and has been rough on all of us. But it’s gestures like Kevin’s that give us all some peace.”
The Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks also whirled into action to help their hourly employees, too.
"I reached out to the folks at the arena and our folks at the Mavs to find out what it would cost to financially support people who aren't going to be able to come to work—you know, they get paid by the hour, and this is their source of income," Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said Wednesday.
Newsweek says Hawks owner Tony Ressler is planning to do the same thing for his temporarily unemployed arena staff.
