LA Clippers working with Lakers, Kings to pay Staples Center workers
The LA Clippers are working with Staples Center co-tenants, the Lakers and Kings, in order to ensure employees are paid while leagues are shut down.
In a great move by all the tenants of Staples Center, the LA Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, and LA Kings, along with the building owner AEG, all part-time and contracted employees are going to be paid while the NBA and NHL are on hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.
First reported by Farbod Esnaashari of Sports Illustrated’s AllClippers, the deal is not yet fully in place as the multiple parties are all working on finalizing details. Kyle also reports that the Lakers and Clippers will be paying all game-night employees. He notes that this includes announcers, statisticians, and even the dance teams, asking any to work at home if at all possible.
Every team has been left to decide what they will do with their employees. Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, was one of the first to announce that his franchise would continue to pay employees during the hiatus, citing that the employees are only paid by the hour and it being their only source of income could cause issues while the league is suspended.
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This news comes on the heels of several players today started to pledge to give money to game-night employees. Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks both made pledges to donate money to employees of their respective teams. The Bucks committed to matching Antetokounmpo’s donation.
New Orleans Pelicans’ rookie Zion Williamson also pledged to send funds to employees who are affected, a big move for a rookie earning just $8 million this year. While that dollar amount is nothing to scoff at for any normal person, it is significantly lower than the players previously mentioned.
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This move by the three tenants of Staples Center is a great move and hopefully, more and more teams across not only the NBA but all leagues follow in step. The coronavirus is causing a lot of issues across the globe but people not being able to work may be one of the more significant problems people are facing.