Zion’s generosity: Former Duke star to pay Pelicans arena’s workers for 30 days
The worldwide coronavirus pandemic brought the sports world to a halt this week.
Sports fans are without a form of entertainment. But worse off are the stadium workers who depend up on serving spectators to make a living.
In New Orleans, Pelicans rookie forward Zion Williamson will help ease that burden for the next few weeks, anyway.
The former Duke All-American announced Friday on his Instagram account that he’ll cover 30 days of salary for the workers the Smoothie King Center, home arena for the New Orleans Pelicans.
“These are the folks who make our games possible,” Williamson wrote, “creating the perfect environment for our fans and everyone involved in the organization. Unfortunately, many of them are still recovering from long term challenges created by Katrina, and now face the economic impact of the postponement of games because of the virus.”
Williamson said he’s making the donation because “my mother has always set an example for me about being respectful for others and being grateful for what we have.”
The Pelicans released a statement on Twitter praising Williamson for his kind act.
“The Pelicans say thank you and applaud Zion and his family for his generous giving today to the employees of ASM New Orleans and the Smoothie King Center during this very unfortunate and troubling time,” the statement read.
Williamson was the ACC player of the year and was named national player of the year by several organizations last spring after helping Duke to a 32-6 record and the 2019 ACC championship. He left the Blue Devils after one year and New Orleans selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft.
This story was originally published March 13, 2020 at 8:05 PM.