Rudy Gobert pledges $500K to arena employees, coronavirus efforts
Jazz center Rudy Gobert will donate more than $500,000 to support the Vivint Smart Home Arena employee relief fund and COVID-related social services relief in Utah, Oklahoma City and the French health care system.
Gobert’s donation includes $200,000 for the part-time employees at the Jazz’s arena who are out of work during the NBA’s suspended season. He will also give $100,000 each to assist families affected by the coronavirus pandemic in Utah and Oklahoma City, as well as 100,000 euros to France, his native country.
The NBA suspended the season on Wednesday night before the Jazz-Thunder game after Gobert tested positive for the virus. His teammate Donovan Mitchell tested positive the following the day.
Gobert later publicly apologized for his “careless” behavior in the days leading up to his diagnosis, but league sources told Sports Illustrated‘s Chris Mannix that Mitchell was upset with his teammate for not reporting his symptoms sooner, which officials back tracked to March 9.
The Jazz said Larry H. Miller Sports & Entertainment are also helping assist employees during the suspended season. Several teams and NBA players, including Kevin Love and Zion Williamson, plan to help compensate their arena employees.
There are more than 152,000 confirmed cases of the virus globally across in least 125 countries.