Mavericks and partners will cover American Airlines Center event staff salaries during hiatus

Yesterday, Mark Cuban announced that he would guarantee Mavericks’ hourly staff wages through March. And today via press release, the Mavericks announced that the organization, along with jersey sponsor Chime and American Airlines Center leadership, would ensure that event staff scheduled to work the six Mavericks home games during the 30 day hiatus would be paid in full.

[T]he organization, along with American Airlines Center leadership, is currently making arrangements to ensure that scheduled event staff will receive payment for the six home games that were to take place during the 30-day NBA hiatus.

As part of its mission to provide financial piece [sic] of mind, Mavericks jersey sponsor Chime, the leader in U.S. challenger banking, has also allocated funds to support this effort.

Staff includes security, police, parking attendants, housekeeping, in-arena entertainers and guest services staff, among others. It is our hope that this will allow our valued team members to satisfy their economic needs during this unprecedented time.

Cuban announced that this effort would be forthcoming before the Mavericks even finished playing their game against the Nuggets on Wednesday evening, but after the hiatus had been announced. The Mavericks join a long list of teams who have announced a commitment to supporting their home arena event staff. There have also been several players on other teams who have pledged support to affected staff during this suspension of play.

The press release also noted that the Mavericks will be working with local nonprofit partners to identify areas where there may be opportunities to help the community during this break in action.

It’s definitely nice to see some humanity in all the uncertainty that has plagued the NBA and the world the past few days. Let’s hope for a quick resolution on all fronts.