OT: Zion Williamson will cover Smoothie King Center workers' pay for next 30 days while NBA paused

[Waquoit]

The owner is a BILLIONAIRE. Why aren’t they stepping up publicly

Because they don't get to be billionaires by giving their money to the help.

 

[XLCenterFan]

Because they don't get to be billionaires by giving their money to the help.

I know, right? Can you IMAGINE the shame in going from a billionaire to a multi-millionaire?

It's far more important to retain the label of "billionaire" than it is to help people and society.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I have two seperate friends who have multiple stories about Cuban and what an awesome guy he is.

Think I already told these stories here but...

One friend is a makeup artist and she says he's by far the nicest celebrity she's worked with and besides being super nice he hooked her up with all sorts of merch, she raves about him.

Another friend is president of the dads club at his kids' elementary school. A group of dads who meet at school periodically for breakfast with the students. And do other stuff to support the school. Now and then they get a guest speaker to come and speak at breakfast. He randomly cold emailed Mark Cuban asking him if he'd come speak to the kids, thinking there's no chance in hell he would hear anything back. Cuban replied like a minute later and said sure, happy to, when and where do you want me. Was as easy as that. Completely cold email to a guy who probably gets thousands a day. Cuban showed up at school alone, drove himself there, and gave an amazing talk then hung out with the kids for a while.

I work with a guy who used to do maintenance on corporate jets. One of his company's clients was Cuban. He said far and away Cuban was top notch when it came to being normal and interacting with the maintenance crew and pilots.

 

[Waquoit]

The last one I could tolerate was Gminski, and that was only because I played in a rec league with his father for a couple years, and that was pre-K.

How tall was his father? Our HS team played Mike in the HS playoffs, our center was 6-2. It was basically Walton v Memphis State.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I don't see the need to trash the Benson's directly. Her late hubby and Gayle have been very generous for decades for multiple causes throughout New Orleans and the gulf coast area. She definitely isn't a penny clutching scrooge.
I don't think it's necessary for each team or ownership group to go public with what they are doing. Some actually believe charity is best done anonymously and behind the scenes.
I would assume each franchise's arrangement for employees, stadium/arena use and management of those facilities is different and it may take a bit of time to figure out how to cut checks to the employees. That being said, a public proclamation of what a team plans to do would probably calm some anxieties of the workers.

 

[RichZ]

How tall was his father? Our HS team played Mike in the HS playoffs, our center was 6-2. It was basically Walton v Memphis State.

His dad was 6-8 and played, uhm... physical. He actually wanted Mike to concentrate on baseball, until Mike got taller than him by the time he was in the 7th grade.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Of course, shaming them is probably the only way to force some of them to do what is absolutely necessary and right.

This has to be some weird form of trolling by you.

You haven’t interacted with or read the guy much, I take it

 

[BlueDogs]

That’s a man doing what’s right. No questions asked, just stepping up. Zion goes to #1 in my book. We all need to step up in whatever ways we can. The virus is nothing compared to the economic damage, job losses and ripple effects coming our way.

Simple ideas:
Double your tips
Continue to pay your regular maintenance guys (house cleaners, lawn care, etc.. even if they can show up).
Order take out and delivery from your local restaurants
Offer your elderly neighbor to pick up groceries and Medicines
Buy 2 or 3 sanitizers and leave some for the next guy

other ideas?

 

[Rocktheworld]

Double your tips

lol maybe if you don’t live in an urban area where you’re already paying $8 for a beer before tipping them to hold a glass and pull a handle for 10 seconds... I get the sentiment though

The rest is nice

 

[intlzncster]

Post/handle FAIL

lmao gold jerry gold

pun intended

 

[Rocktheworld]

I work with a guy who used to do maintenance on corporate jets. One of his company's clients was Cuban. He said far and away Cuban was top notch when it came to being normal and interacting with the maintenance crew and pilots.

This is nice, but I think we might want to pump the brakes on praising a billionaire business owner for paying his most-dependent employees. A) several other teams are doing it and B) I actually heard Broussard say that Cuban is making said employees do community service to get paid. So literally putting them in the public, in harms way, to get the money that’s been taken from them.

 

[Chin Diesel]

This is nice, but I think we might want to pump the brakes on praising a billionaire business owner for paying his most-dependent employees. A) several other teams are doing it and B) I actually heard Broussard say that Cuban is making said employees do community service to get paid. So literally putting them in the public, in harms way, to get the money that’s been taken from them.

I don't have a problem with Cuban having employees, I don't know, do work, to get paid. There's probably plenty of outreach the Mavericks franchise can do and it seems normal to pay people to do work rather than sit at home.

 

[superjohn]

This is nice, but I think we might want to pump the brakes on praising a billionaire business owner for paying his most-dependent employees. A) several other teams are doing it and B) I actually heard Broussard say that Cuban is making said employees do community service to get paid. So literally putting them in the public, in harms way, to get the money that’s been taken from them.

Everyone should do it and will do it, whether they're shamed into it or it's league mandated.

Your first mistake is listening to Broussard. He's the biggest hack in the industry and Cuban has had to body him before over his hackery. Cuban is 10 times the man that hack is and will do the right thing by his employees like he always does.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Everyone should do it and will do it, whether they're shamed into it or it's league mandated.

Your first mistake is listening to Broussard. He's the biggest hack in the industry and Cuban has had to body him before over his hackery. Cuban is 10 times the man that hack is and will do the right thing by his employees like he always does.

You saying he’s lying?

 

[superjohn]

You saying he’s lying?

Probably or going off faulty info while not knowing the situation which he does all the time.

You think Cuban is forcing his workers to do community service putting them in harms way? Come on, think for a second.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Probably or going off faulty info while not knowing the situation which he does all the time.

You think Cuban is forcing his workers to do community service putting them in harms way? Come on, think for a second.

Aren't we trying to limit person-to-person contact as much as reasonably achievable? And you're gonna have them volunteer at a soup kitchen or a church or something? In a major metropolitan area? And if schools are closed, they have to then find childcare? I think I've thought for a second longer than you.

 

[superjohn]

Aren't we trying to limit person-to-person contact as much as reasonably achievable? And you're gonna have them volunteer at a soup kitchen or a church or something? In a major metropolitan area? And if schools are closed, they have to then find childcare? I think I've thought for a second longer than you.

I'm guessing you know as much about what Cuban is doing as Broussard does.

This is really bad on your part.

 

[navery12]

Aren't we trying to limit person-to-person contact as much as reasonably achievable? And you're gonna have them volunteer at a soup kitchen or a church or something? In a major metropolitan area? And if schools are closed, they have to then find childcare? I think I've thought for a second longer than you.

Are you not reading what you're responding to? His entire point is Cuban would never force those people to volunteer

 

[Rocktheworld]

I'm guessing you know as much about what Cuban is doing as Broussard does.

This is really bad on your part.

All I said was to pump the brakes. If it's not true, it's not true. How that reflects on me is a mystery to me lol

 

[8893]

All I said was to pump the brakes. If it's not true, it's not true. How that reflects on me is a mystery to me lol

Cuban said "we may ask them to volunteer" when he first announced it. It was clear that he was just trying to say that they'll figure something out to take care of them. I'd pump the brakes on spreading baseless rumors that he's "making said employees do community service to get paid" and putting them in soup kitchens.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Cuban said "we may ask them to volunteer" when he first announced it. It was clear that he was just trying to say that they'll figure something out to take care of them. I'd pump the brakes on spreading baseless rumors that he's "making said employees do community service to get paid" and putting them in soup kitchens.

I have no brakes to pump. It’s not “baseless” given the quote you yourself provided. And I just brought up the general concern of asking people to volunteer, which often takes place in a busy place helping lots of people.

 

[superjohn]

I have no brakes to pump. It’s not “baseless” given the quote you yourself provided. And I just brought up the general concern of asking people to volunteer, which often takes place in a busy place helping lots of people.

Maybe you don't know Broussard's history and how he's viewed in the profession. He's known as a hack/liar and has a history of hating and lying about Cuban and getting taken to the woodshed by Cuban. I thought Broussard must have one of his inside "scoops" fabrications about Cuban putting his employees in harms way by forcing them to work in soup kitchens to get paid. Broussard and you are just going off of Cuban's public comments the other day?

 

[Rocktheworld]

Maybe you don't know Broussard's history and how he's viewed in the profession. He's known as a hack/liar and has a history of hating and lying about Cuban and getting taken to the woodshed by Cuban. I thought Broussard must have one of his inside "scoops" fabrications about Cuban putting his employees in harms way by forcing them to work in soup kitchens to get paid. Broussard and you are just going off of Cuban's public comments the other day?

I mean everyone gets things wrong in journalism but no I'm not privy to some special reputation you claim he has among his peers, nor that he has some special hatred for Cuban such that he risks his professional reputation in order to slander him (if you seriously claim he outright lies). I'd like some links to that evidence.

And what else, besides his public comments, would anyone have to go off of? lol

 

[superjohn]

I mean everyone gets things wrong in journalism but no I'm not privy to some special reputation you claim he has among his peers, nor that he has some special hatred for Cuban such that he risks his professional reputation in order to slander him (if you seriously claim he outright lies). I'd like some links to that evidence.

And what else, besides his public comments, would anyone have to go off of? lol

You are privy to it. This isn't some special secret about Broussard. You have google.

You said Cuban was putting his employees in harms was by forcing them to work in soup kitchens to get paid. I figured this was one of Broussard's "scoops."

 

[Rocktheworld]

You are privy to it. This isn't some special secret about Broussard. You have google.

I frankly don't care that much to google anything. I've seen the "sources" meme but I figured that was over one big rumor he got wrong; which, again, happens to everyone in journalism with the balls to put speculation that they're hearing, from whom they deem credible sources, out there.

You said Cuban was putting his employees in harms was by forcing them to work in soup kitchens to get paid. I figured this was one of Broussard's "scoops."

We'll see exactly what "asking them to volunteer", which Cuban said himself, turns out to mean. And I didn't necessarily mean soup kitchens. It's just the first thing someone thinks of. I was making, again, the general point that you're usually interacting with many people in a large gathering when you volunteer. During a time in which we are being told to avoid as such as much as reasonably achievable; by the way, my hospital system has been telling all volunteers to not come in. If he's wrong, he's wrong; and at most overreacted to the initial quote.

 

[Watchdog]

Typical Boneyard. Has to deteriorate into a contest.

A great player, a rookie on his first contract yet, shows the values instilled in him by his mother, and the thread deteriorates into arguments about Cuban and others. Owners may be somewhat impacted by employment law or maybe are just plain selfish/cheap, so why drag them into a story about the actions of a generous player?

My immediate thought was, how nice a young man he must be. To see a player, who like so many others came from nothing and was made instantly wealthy after one year of college basketball, make such a generous gesture should be celebrated.

AND, I think it's fair to ask why other players haven't done more for charities. It makes me laugh when I see some fabulously wealthy athlete who will earn $250 million or more in his career talk about "giving back" when he plays in a charity golf tournament or shows up at some other event as part of the celebrity lineup. Too bad more don't have Zion's values.

 

[navery12]