They were following the lead of Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who told reporters Wednesday that he would put together a payment plan for the team’s hourly workers.
CORONAVIRUS: Why the NBA suspended the season, and what might come next
The Cavaliers and forward Kevin Love were the most public with their intentions. First, the Cavs announced they would develop “a compensation plan to continue paying our event staff and hourly workforce that is impacted with the changes to our regular event schedule” at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse,
Love followed hours later with an Instagram post pledging $100,000 from his foundation to Cavs arena and support staff.
A post shared by Kevin Love (@kevinlove) on Mar 12, 2020 at 2:36pm PDT
A Cavaliers spokesperson told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin that “well over a thousand” people are employed at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse and the Canton (Ohio) Memorial Civic Center, where the Cavs’ G League affiliate plays.
Hawks majority owner Tony Ressler told The Athletic that his team would follow Cuban’s example and pay workers.
“We are indeed and feel strongly it’s both the right thing to do and good business,” Ressler wrote in an e-mail to reporter Bill Shea.
McMenamin reported that other NBA teams are developing similar plans.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday that the league would suspend play for at least 30 days in response to the global coronavirus outbreak.
