Cleveland Cavaliers players Kevin Love and Andre Drummond put forth a combined $150,000 to help arena workers out during COVID-19.
Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, where the Cavaliers play their games in the NBA, has had to cut back on part-time workers due to the league’s pandemic restrictions. They are keeping fans out of arenas, for now, and that means usual game-day employees aren’t in need.
Cavaliers team owner Dan Gilbert and the Cavaliers organization, according to information from Forbes reporter Chris Manning, said it would pay $1.2 million in lost wages for missed events through mid-April.
Love added $100,000 on top of that and Drummond added $50,000, too. The Cavaliers also reportedly paid workers from a separate company who lost wages when events were stopped.
Kevin Love Understands Need To Help Others Out
The fact that Love and Drummond both helped out in a time of need is a testament to each player. Love, though, has shared deeper parts of his own personal life with the public before.
Back in September, Love wrote a story for The Players Tribune called “To Anybody Going Through It.” He details his own journey with mental health issues such as depression.
“Sometimes it feels like the world is looking at you saying things like, ‘Come on, man, just get over it. Don’t think like that. Just move on,'” Love said.
“But what people on the outside don’t always understand is that it takes all of your strength and willpower just to exist,” Love said. “Just to keep on going. Battling depression, battling anxiety, battling any mental health disorder … it’s all just so unbelievably exhausting.
“That’s been on my mind a lot lately, considering the millions and millions of people around the world who have lost their jobs or lost their loved ones, or who are just dealing with the unprecedented anxieties of being a human in 2020. I know so many people out there are suffering right now. I’m no different. I’m still going through it. Even after all the work I’ve tried to do on myself over the last two-and-a-half years, some days are just brutal.”
Cavaliers Off To 4-0 Start Early In NBA Season
The Cavaliers have been one of the NBA’s most up-and-down organizations over the past few years. They have had success thanks to LeBron James leading the team to an NBA championship. They’ve also had some lean seasons, finishing double-digit games under .500 and totally missing the NBA playoffs.
This season, though, has seen the Cavs get off to a 4-0 start. Their latest victory was on Sunday night, when they beat the Philadelphia 76ers 118-94. Drummond scored 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the victory.
The Cavaliers will host the New York Knicks on Tuesday at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
