The coronavirus pandemic has hit the sports world hard, creating a ripple affect of financial instability for the most vulnerable workers in the industry. While athletes, coaches and executives will be able to weather this storm fairly well, plenty of hourly workers and even some salaried employees are getting totally screwed.
With the NHL season indefinitely postponed, workers are losing their jobs all over the place, and, even as many teams and players have stepped up to help ease as much of the financial strain as possible, there are still organizations like the Boston Bruins and the Buffalo Sabres who aren’t lifting a finger, despite the massive wealth these workers have helped them accumulate. The Montreal Canadiens also announced staff layoffs earlier, and Devils management announced staff pay cuts before reversing that decision after getting publicly shamed.
It’s infuriating to see and I trust that, when this is all over and we’ve been able to get some semblance of normal back into our lives, their behavior won’t be forgotten.
Still, as the Bruins were sinking to new lows on Wednesday night, there were a few bright spots in the hockey world of teams and executives saying and doing the right thing, and that’s something we need much more of. Along with the news of the Bruins temporarily laying off much of their staff, it was also reported that the Carolina Hurricanes would be requiring staff to take time off without pay but Hurricanes majority owner Tom Dundon disputed that report.
“Absolutely not true. Not even close,” Dundon told radio host Adam Gold.
He went on say that while Hurricanes employees were being told to take their paid time off, they’d keep getting paychecks but as of now, they’re not considering laying off their employees.
“We aren’t anywhere close to that being the case. I’m not going to have good people on the street.”
Dundon then added “we aren’t anywhere close to that being the case. I’m not going to have good people on the street.” 5/5
— Adam Gold (@AGoldFan) March 25, 2020
In an even bigger move, Dallas Stars president Jim Lites and general manager Jim Nill told ESPN on Wednesday that they would be taking 50% pay cuts while the NHL season is postponed to help ease the financial burden on the organization.
“We’re just looking to help somebody else. Jim and I are very fortunate,” Nill told ESPN. The game’s been great to us. But within our organization, we have a lot of younger people working who live paycheck to paycheck. We hope this is something that can help them down the road.”
That’s exactly the right thing to do. I wish we were seeing more of it from wealthier owners and managers who have had the privilege of building up their income, helped in no small part by the work of the teams around them. This isn’t to say that the actions of the Stars and the Hurricanes will prevent layoffs in the future, no one can predict what’s going to happen day-to-day much less in a month or two, but at least the Stars and Hurricanes are making some sacrifices.
The state of the world right now, and or some time moving forward, is going to be a chaotic, swirling mess of insecurity and worry. Taking at least some of that away, by telling people they can count on a paycheck and health insurance for at least a few more months, is not just admirable, but basic decency. It’s funny though, how it’s showing up in some teams and totally absent in others.
I like to think that when this is all over and we’re back to NHL games on our TVs and arenas packed with fans, we’re also going to remember which teams were there for their people when it mattered and which teams turned their backs. Maybe it won’t affect your rooting interests, but I’m cheering for the teams that are prioritizing all their workers, not just their bottom line.
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