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This commitment to “taking care of all of our employees, our full-time, our part-time” should be league wide. As Obama said, they have an obligation to do so. This isn’t about feel-good generosity, it’s about right and wrong. When NBA teams get hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds to build new stadiums, it is always done with the promise of jobs. These promises are always problematic, since they often, when not unionized, don’t come with a living wage and of course by their nature comprise seasonal, as opposed to year round, work. The coronavirus response has shown just how precarious these workers’ jobs are.
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Now is put up or shut up time. The ownership plutocracy must provide paid leave for these workers, because promises made have to be matched by promises kept. One team, my hometown squad the Washington Wizards. and team governor Ted Leonsis will be doing the right thing and funding salaries of arena workers during this crisis. I spoke to one, who said to me, “Paid leave means I can stay home, care for my kids when they’re home from school. That means groceries. That means everything.” It’s unconscionable that half the teams are still dragging their feet. It shouldn’t take a 19-year-old rookie to shame these cosseted billionaires into doing their duty and to make sure everyone can play a role in getting us through this pandemic in one piece.