Sports have been shut down! Leagues have come to a fast stop with no idea if or when their seasons will resume. All professional athletes are on lockdown: just like everyone else in the country. Instead of focusing their efforts on the court and on the field, these athletes are giving back to the people in other ways. Athletes have been donating to the greater community by supplementing wages, donations of meals, and monetary donations to big national organizations. Here is just a glimpse of how many athletes have helped people during the COVID-19 pandemic and helped our country during these hard times.

Baseball: All 30 MLB teams have each decided to donate one million dollars to help ballpark employees who are now out of a job. In addition to this generous commitment, Houston Astros star players George Springer and Alex Bregmen have donated during the pandemic. Springer is donating 100,000 dollars to ballpark employees and Bregman donated 1,000 food kits to a local Houston Food Bank. Chicago Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward has donated 100,000 dollars to the Greater Good Chicago Food Depository and another 100,000 to MASK, which is a food and materials for families who have been dramatically impacted by the virus. Atlanta Braves star first baseman Freddie Freeman has donated 125,000 dollars through three agencies. The Atlanta Food Bank, Giving Kitchen, and the Salvation Army. Catcher Tucker Barnhart for the Cincinnati Reds gave away 500 dollar gift cards to Frisch’s to local healthcare working.

Basketball: Superstar player Giannis Antetokounmpo, rising star Zion Williamson, and star Kevin Love have each donated 100,000 dollars to their arena workers. Bulls player Zach Lavine has pledged 12,500 meals in Seattle, organization Feeding America. An organization of food banks that have helped 40 million Americans each year, including 12 million children. NBA star Kyrie Irving has donated an outstanding 323,000 dollars to Feeding America as well as 250,000 meals for New Yorkers. Rudy Gobert, the first known player to test positive for COVID-19, donated an amazing 500,000 dollars to help people who lost wages in Utah, Oklahoma, and France.

Football: Rams quarterback Jared Goff and offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth are each donating 250,000 dollars to an LA food bank. Quarterback Russell Wilson is donating one meal to the community of Seattle. Houston Texans Star JJ Watt and his wife Kealia Ohai Watt, who is a soccer player for the Chicago Red Stars are donating 350,000 dollars to provide meals to the Houston Food Bank. Lastly, six-time super bowl winner and new Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady is teaming up with Wheels up and is donating 10 million meals to Feeding America. 

Hockey: Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky has donated 100,000 dollars to workers at BB&T Center. Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team has started a fund to pay full and part-time employees.

Soccer: Julia Ertz, who plays for the Chicago Red Stars, and her husband, Zach Ertz, who is in the NFL playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, are donating 100,000 dollars to a food bank in Philadelphia. 

There are many more athletes who have stepped up and donated to help people who are struggling in America. These are just some of the donations that have been made. Their efforts have been phenomenal and how they have not only helped their community, but the country at large. While we can’t applaud them on the court, field, or ice for their athletic ability, we can applaud and give our thanks for the generous donations that are being made for our country during this very difficult time.