Kyrie Irving starts $1.5 million fund to supplement WNBA players' salaries

Source: Jim McIsaac / Getty

Sports are coming back despite the fact that there is still a pandemic that is getting people sick and taking lives. Not every athlete who is scheduled to report back to work is going to be doing so. Several NBA and WNBA players have chosen to sit out the season as they don’t want to risk getting sick or infecting others. Other players, like the Atlanta Dream’s Renee Montgomery, have chosen to sit out to take advantage of America’s renewed interest in creating equality.

As such, those players will not be getting paid this season. That might work for an NBA player who may have millions of dollars saved up, but for WNBA ballers who have been fighting for years to get fair pay increases, missing a season could be the road to financial ruin.

Kyrie Irving is fully aware of the sacrifice that some women are making and he wants to do something to help them out. According to Bleacher Report, he has committed to a $1.5 million fund to supplement the ladies’ missing income.

“Whether a person decided to fight for social justice, play basketball, focus on physical or mental health, or simply connect with their families, this initiative can hopefully support their priorities and decisions,” Irving said in a statement.

The donation will be part of the KAI Empowerment Initiative created by Irving that will also provide WNBA players with a “comprehensive financial literacy program.”

This is dope and we hope that every single NBA player drops some coins in this bucket because not only do these ladies deserve, but players have spent money on far worse causes.