Kings will continue to pay employees during first weeks of NBA coronavirus shutdown
Players, coaches and executives aren’t the only ones impacted by the NBA’s coronavirus shutdown.
As fans exited Golden 1 Center after the league postponed the Kings’ game against the New Orleans Pelicans and suspended the NBA season Wednesday, hundreds of arena workers met in groups to discuss their own uncertain futures. The confusion and concern was evident in their faces, but the Kings provided some clarity Friday when the team announced it would continue to pay employees through the end of March.
“We are committed to assisting all of our employees through this uncertain time,” the Kings said in a written statement. “All part-time, hourly Kings event team members will be compensated for the shifts they were previously scheduled to work in March.”
The organization’s decision affects about 800 employees, including ushers, box office workers and those who work in security, guest services, game-day operations and entertainment.
The announcement came a day after Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said the Mavericks will continue to pay American Airlines Center employees. Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love has also agreed to compensate team employees, donating $100,000 to help workers at Quicken Loans Arena.
Also on Friday, Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo said he will donate $100,000 to workers at Fiserv Forum and New Orleans rookie Zion Williamson pledged to cover salaries for the Pelicans’ arena 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 created by this national health crisis,” Williamson said on Instagram.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday the NBA will suspend its schedule for a minimum of 30 days after Utah Jazz players Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell tested positive for the coronavirus.
“We’re at the point now that this has been declared a pandemic,” Silver told TNT’s Inside the NBA on Thursday. “It’s virtually impossible to contain it and it’s going to become widespread. … The NBA community is not immune, and so it’s going to spread throughout our community as well.”
This story was originally published March 13, 2020 at 2:42 PM.
