The end of the year is often a time of reflection on the year that was and everything that took place, but for many, 2020 is a year they want to put behind them as quickly as possible. The COVID-19 pandemic swept away the last nine months and has caused millions to lose jobs and face financial and medical hardships previously unheard of.
The disruption of the sports world was a secondary concern for most of us, but for some it collided with those real world issues as arena workers in particular bore the brunt of the economic fallout, losing jobs and wages that they rely on. Some organizations took it upon themselves to keep those arena workers paid, but in many cases that didn’t happen. In Cleveland, those that take care of swapping out the floor at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse found themselves out of work when the NBA went on hiatus, and weren’t working until the Cavs returned to the court this month.
While Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, with his $43.9 billion net worth, apparently did not cover the wages of those crucial arena employees, Kevin Love did, as the Cavs veteran big man who made it a point to sign his extension in the midst of arena construction workers a few years ago paid it forward to help out those workers whose services would eventually be needed again.
https://twitter.com/kevinlove/status/1343602419381497860
Stories like this are heartwarming on the surface, and it’s a tremendous gesture from Love and all the other players in major sports that have made similar pledges to assist the workers that help put on games at arenas around the country. However, it’s a reminder that those with the most often are the ones least willing to help when they’re suddenly faced with the prospect of some losses that will dent their net worth but wouldn’t particularly impact their lifestyle — as opposed to those who lost jobs and found themselves in the desperate scramble of filling that income void to pay rent and bills and provide for their families.
So kudos to Love for stepping up in a big way, but it’s a shame that any of these gestures from athletes have been necessary.
