NBA: Rudy Gobert Donated $500,000 Aid For Relief Of Utah, OKC Employees

Most of the people are throwing the blame on Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert after testing positive for coronavirus and for his prank days ago. That alarmed the entire NBA, which led to the suspension of the ongoing season – and his team’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, though he isn’t in the arena when the announcement came out.

He may be receiving the hate, but that didn’t stop the French big man to help people in need.

Reports from Shams Charania of The Athletic said that the 7-foot-1 defensive specialist donated $500,000 to help aid the employees that will be losing their jobs temporarily due to coronavirus. The assistance will be given not just for the employees of Vivint Smart Home Arena in his home city Utah, but as well as relief for Oklahoma City and their employees at Chesapeake Energy Arena, and as well as in his home country in France.

Gobert, a positive case himself, knows how hard it is for the people who will be affected by the NBA stoppage, especially those who are watching over the arenas. He knows that the amount that he’s donating is small but he hinted that this will not be the last time that he will be giving out assistance during these times.

When the news broke out that the back-to-back reigning Defensive Player of the Year tested positive for COVID-19, the league decided to suspend the remaining games of the regular season and all players that showed up in Chesapeake Arena during the supposed to be a game between Utah and Oklahoma City. Days after, Gobert’s teammate Donovan Mitchell also tested positive for coronavirus.

When a video went viral where it shows him making a joke where he touched the microphone and recorders of the media before testing positive to the virus, he’s received backlash from fans for not taking the case seriously. He later apologized for his actions days after.