Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has been a leading example of how people in his position of power can be a pillar in their community during a time of crisis. Immediately after the NBA season was postponed due to the threat of the coronavirus outbreak, Cuban announced that he would be setting up a program to ensure that arena workers would continue to be paid. Several other teams – though not all – have since announced similar plans, and some players – such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Love and Zion Williamson – have pledged money for arena workers.
The population has a responsibility to practice social distancing to help curb the outbreak, but the economic consequences of the crisis are massive. Thousands of businesses are already struggling, and experts say we’re only at the beginning of the outbreak in the United States. Some companies are taking steps to help support the small businesses that may be hit the hardest in the weeks to come, and Cuban joined in after seeing an initiative on Twitter.
Civic Science announced that for the next week, all of their employees’ expenses for lunch and coffee purchases from local businesses would be reimbursed. Cuban tweeted that he loved the idea, and then shared that he will be doing the same for Mavericks employees and people for work for his other companies (which is a very long list).
