The American phenomenon of profitable corporations and businesses asking for federal assistance didn’t skip over the National Basketball Association, nor its most iconic franchise. In what was a surprising bit of news that came early on Monday morning, ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz reported that the Los Angeles Lakers applied for federal assistance, received $4.6 million and then have now said they returned it after hearing that the program meant to help small businesses survive the pandemic had been depleted.
The Lakers made a statement to ESPN explaining why they gave the money back.
“The Lakers qualified for and received a loan under the Payroll Protection Program,” the Lakers said in a statement to ESPN. “Once we found out the funds from the program had been depleted, we repaid the loan so that financial support would be directed to those most in need. The Lakers remain completely committed to supporting both our employees and our community.”
The Lakers have committed to continue paying their employees and a recent USA TODAY report found that the Staples Center employees are some of the few who are actually getting money, even though they are not direct employees of the teams who play there. As far as the Lakers Staples Center neighbors are concerned, back in late March, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer purchased the Forum in Inglewood for $400 million.
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