Zion Williamson offers to cover salaries of Smoothie King Center workers for 30 days

By Kendra Smith-Parks | March 13, 2020 at 5:01 PM CDT - Updated March 13 at 11:29 PM

NEW ORLEANS, La. (WVUE) - In a heartfelt statement on Instagram, Pelicans’ player Zion Williamson pledged to cover the salaries of all Smoothie King Center workers for 30 days.

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The people of New Orleans have been incredibly welcoming and supportive since I was Drafted by the Pels last June, and some of the most special people I have met are those who work at smoothie King Center. These are the folks who make our games possible, creating the perfect environment for our fans and everyone involved in the organization. Unfortunately, many of them are still recovering from long term challenges created by Katrina, and now face the economic impact of the postponement of games because of the virus. My mother has always set an example for me about being respectful for others and being grateful for what we have, and so today I am pledging to cover the salaries for all of those Smoothie King Center workers for the next 30 days. This is a small way for me to express my support and appreciation for these wonderful people who have been so great to me and my teammates and hopefully we can all join together to relieve some of the stress and hardship caused by this national health crisis. This is an incredibly resilient city full of some of the most resilient people, but sometimes providing a little extra assistance can make things a little easier for the community.

A post shared by Zion Williamson (@zionwilliamson) on Mar 13, 2020 at 2:24pm PDT

This comes after the announcement suspension of all NBA games and cancellation of all events with attendance over 250.

“This is an incredibly resilient city full of some of the most resilient people, but sometimes providing a little extra assistance can make things a little easier for the community,” Williamson said.