The Chicago Bulls finally announced that they will compensate day-of-game staff during the NBA’s hiatus. It’s about time!
The coronavirus has taken over the entirety of the sports world (as well as a large chunk of the real world). March Madness has been canceled, the NBA season has been suspended, and many other sports are shutting down for the foreseeable future.
That’s the right decision. COVID-19 is nothing to mess around with. But shutting down sports has a large impact on many individuals, not just the athletes and the fans. The arena workers, who rely on games being played to get their paychecks, are in trouble if there are no games being played.
The good news is players are aware of this problem. Kevin Love and Zion Williamson, among others, have pledged to give large sums of money to arena staff. That type of move is inspiring, especially from a kid like Williamson who is only 19 years old, but the ownership groups should also be stepping up and paying their workers.
Per the Chicago Bulls, Rocky Wirtz and Jerry Reinsdorf have announced that the United Center ownership, the Bulls and the Blackhawks will pay game-day employees through the remainder of the season. This is fantastic news.
STATEMENT FROM ROCKY WIRTZ AND JERRY REINSDORF:
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) March 14, 2020
The United Center ownership and the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks, on behalf of our front offices and players, will pay day-of-game employees through the remainder of the originally scheduled season. (1/2)
It’s a little jarring to me that every team didn’t announce this type of move as soon as the season got suspended. It shouldn’t take a few players stepping up for the billionaire owners to realize what they need to do. But hey, better late than never, right?
Kudos to the Chicago Bulls for doing the right thing.