Many athletes and team owners have joined in against the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Here are some of them.
Arik Armstead 49ers
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals announced a $1 million founding contribution to the AZ Coronavirus Relief Fund as part of the Arizona Together initiative, which was launched March 24 by Gov. Doug Ducey. “Like so many in our community, this unprecedented crisis has us asking what we can do to help and what might have the greatest impact,” Cardinals chairman and president Michael Bidwill said. “We are grateful for the creation of this relief fund, are proud to support its critically important mission and hope that others throughout the community can join this effort in whatever way that they are able.
Atlanta Falcons
Falcons owner Arthur Blank will pay all hourly employees of the Falcons, his MLS team (Atlanta United) and Mercedes-Benz Stadium that were put out of work by cancellations caused by COVID-19. On March 20, The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation has pledged $5.4 million to organizations in Georgia and Montana for immediate and long-term assistance.
Browns owners: Dee, Jimmy Haslam
Cleveland Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam pledged $1.5 million to COVID-19 relief funds in Ohio, donating $1 million to the Greater Cleveland COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund and $500,000 to the Columbus Foundation’s Emergency Response Fund. The Haslams, who also own Columbus Crew SC of the MLS, contributed the money through their Haslam 3 Foundation. “We are humbled by the tremendous work of people around the world in their efforts to help those impacted by COVID-19 and we wanted to try to positively impact those affected in our own communities of Cleveland and Columbus,” the Haslams said in a release.
Dallas Cowboys’ Blake Jarwin
Dallas Cowboys tight end Blake Jarwin celebrated a three-year, $24M contract with a pledge to help those impacted by coronavirus.
Travis Frederick
Houston Texans
The Texans are donating $500,000 to the Houston Food Bank and Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston Meals on Wheels on behalf of the McNair Family. These dollars will assist nonprofits in continuing to serve the Houston community amid the COVID-19 crisis.
Drew Brees of New Orleans Saints
Drew and Brittany Brees are donating $5 million to the state of Louisiana for its efforts to battle the coronavirus pandemic.
Adrian Peterson
Buffalo Bills
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos pledged $500,000 to the Colorado COVID-19 Relief Fund.
J.J. Watt and Kealia Ohai
Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt and his wife, Chicago Red Stars’ Kealia Ohai, contributed $350,000 to the Houston Food Bank, which will provide more than one million meals to those in need.
Ciara and Russell Wilson
Singer Ciara and husband, Seahawks QB Russell Wilson, are donating 1 million meals to the Seattle Food Lifeline. The couple asked followers to donate to their local food banks and asked fans to “keep the Faith during this difficult time.”
Freddie Freeman
Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman is donating $125,000 toward the coronavirus fight. The baseball star has pledged $50,000 to Giving Kitchen, $50,000 to Atlanta Community Food Bank and $25,000 to the Salvation Army.
Jason Heyward
Chicago Cub Jason Heyward is donating $200,000 toward coronavirus relief efforts in the Windy City, with $100,000 going toward the Greater Chicago Food Depository and another $100,000 going to MASK, an organization that is collecting supplies and meals for families who have been impacted by the virus.
Los Angeles, Staples Center teams
Stephen Curry
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Khris Middleton
Khris Middleton of the Milwaukee Bucks has pledged to donate $100,000 to help workers at his home stadium, Fiserv Forum. The Bucks organization announced it would match his contribution as well as that of teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Joel Embiid
Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid donated $500,000 to coronavirus medical relief, helping survival and protection efforts in the community.
Roger Federer
Tennis icon Roger Federer and his wife, Mirka, joined the relief efforts against the coronavirus on Wednesday (March 25), announcing a donation of one million Swiss francs “for the most vulnerable families in Switzerland.”
“Our contribution is just a start,” Federer wrote on Instagram. “We hope that others might join in supporting more families in need. Together we can overcome this crisis! Stay healthy!”
Kyrie Irving
Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving pledged $323,000 to hunger-relief organization Feeding America and said he is teaming up with City Harvest, a New York-based organization dedicated to feeding those in need, to help distribute 250,000 meals in the New York area.
Kevin Love
Kevin Love and the Cleveland Cavaliers made a joint effort to support event staff. Love announced a pledge of $100,000 to aid arena workers, and the Cavs also promised to compensate all hourly event staff employees. “First off, thank you Dan Gilbert for stepping up and compensating all of the @rocketmortgagefieldhouse hourly and event staff team members as if the regular season were still taking place,” Love wrote. “When we all stand together, our impact has huge ripple effects on our communities. The folks at the arena are like family to me and I am grateful.”
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer
Rudy Gobert
Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert, who was the first NBA star to test positive for the virus, made a donation of about $500,000 across three organizations. Gobert promised $100,000 to pay part-time employees of the Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City whose jobs were impacted, $100,000 each to support coronavirus-related social services in Utah and Oklahoma City, and 100,000 euros ($111,000) to go toward the coronavirus fight in his home country of France.
Zion Williamson
New Orleans Pelican Zion Williamson pledged on March 13 to cover the salaries of all workers at the Smoothie King Center, his home stadium, for 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 caused by this national health crisis,” he wrote on Instagram.
Zlatan Ibrahimović
Zlatan Ibrahimović launched a GoFundMe campaign to benefit Humanitas Research Hospital in Italy with a goal of raising 1 million euros ($1.07 million). The athlete revealed the effort via Instagram. “Italy has always given me so much and, in this dramatic moment, I want to give back even more to this country that I love,” he wrote in a caption to a video promoting the campaign.
Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal called on Spanish athletes to help raise 11 million euros ($12.07 million) to help fight the coronavirus pandemic. Nadal said he spoke with NBA star Pau Gasol about what they could do to help and came up with the initiative to support the Red Cross in procuring protective equipment and infrastructure to assist vulnerable families in Spain affected by the virus. Lionel Messi and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola had each donated one million euros ($1.08 million) to help clinics and medical centres fight the outbreak while Cristiano Ronaldo donated lifesaving equipment to Portuguese hospitals.
