Not only is Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday a beast on both ends of the court, but by all accounts, he’s long been one of the best teammates in the entire league—as evidenced by the fact that he received the 2019-20 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award last season.
So, with him being renowned within NBA circles for his kindness and tremendous leadership qualities, it should come as no surprise that the UCLA alum is extending that same generosity outside of the locker room by donating his salary this season to Black-owned businesses and nonprofits.
In a post on Instagram, Holiday explained how the COVID-19 pandemic factored into his decision.
“With the Covid-19 Pandemic and heightened racial injustices in 2020, many of us have been looking for answers,” he wrote. “[My wife] Lauren & I found ourselves searching for ways to help our community at a time when they needed it most. Pledging the remainder of our 2020 NBA salary to small black-owned businesses, nonprofits and initiatives is how we felt we could make a lasting impact.
“According to @google, in 2020, worldwide searches for “support small business” doubled compared to the previous year. It’s encouraging to know that in a time when we could all use a helping hand, we are still searching for ways to help one another. Know that you are not alone in your search for answers.”
Wow. ‘Tis the season of giving, indeed.
Holiday has yet to identify any of the organizations or businesses that he’ll be lending a helping hand to, but for those wondering, he could be pouring a jaw-dropping $26 million back into our community should he keep his word and donate his salary this season—and this isn’t a one-time thing or a fluke.
Last season, he donated over $5 million of his salary to Black-owned businesses and nonprofits in New Orleans, Indianapolis, Los Angeles/Compton, and other cities. He also cut a $500,000 check to HBCUs.
This is a hell of a way to leave a lasting impression on his new teammates in Milwaukee and hopefully, we see other players throughout the league follow Holiday’s lead.
DISCUSSION
Unless he worded it funny, I’m pretty sure he isn’t donating his entire 2020-21 season salary. He specifically said he is “pledging the remainder of our 2020 NBA salary.” Pretty sure he means literally just his remaining paycheck(s) in the calendar year 2020.
Which is still a massive, probably seven-figure donation on top of what they did in August, so I say this as no slight to Jrue, who’s one of my favorite players and for sure one of my favorite humans in the NBA.