In a recent interview on ESPN, Jrue Holiday of the New Orleans Pelicans made a pretty impressive announcement along with wife, former US soccer star Lauren Holiday. Holiday is pledging the full remainder of his NBA salary for the rest of the season to a myriad of charities and small businesses throughout the US, with the aim of supporting Black businesses and Black communities.
Holiday could make as much as $5.3 million for the rest of the NBA season within the theoretically coronavirus-free "bubble" located in Orlando, and as per his pledge, all of it will go towards the Jrue and Lauren Holiday Social Impact Fund. As he explained in the interview:
"We really feel like me pledging my salary could really benefit the Black communities…In LA, in New Orleans and in Indiana we have ties there so we believe this is the perfect time to do that…Coming back with everything happening, I needed an extra push and trying to figure out things with other teammates and other people in the league. My wife just one night was just like 'I really feel like you should pledge the rest of your salary.'"
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In addition to the planned $4 million contribution to various organizations in Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Indiana (selected for their personal significance to Jrue and Lauren), the Holidays are also donating another $1 million to Black business owners in ten other US cities, plus $500,000 to various historically Black colleges across the country.
Holiday also made the pledge of his remaining NBA salary on a recent post from his official Instagram account, where he called it "a progressive step toward combating systemic racism as well as social and economic inequality that continues to prevent Black communities from upward mobility," as well as referencing racial disparities in the US's covid-19 Payment Protection Program.
