New Orleans Pelican star Jrue Holiday is pledging the rest of his NBA salary for the year to combat social justice. The guard took to Instagram to make the announcement.
“I have pledged the remainder of my 2020 NBA salary as a progressive step toward combating systemic racism as well as social and economic inequality that continues to prevent Black communities from upward mobility,” Holiday wrote.
He continued, “These funds will go to Black-led nonprofits, programs and institutions of higher learning in the cities of New Orleans, L.A., Compton and Indianapolis, as well as to Black-owned small businesses in 10 cities that have been devastated by the impact of COVID-19, but are now known to have received less than 2% of the Paycheck Protection Program loans provided.”
The game checks, which are worth about $5.3 million, will help start a fund with his wife Lauren Holiday. The Jrue and Lauren Holiday Social Justice Impact Fund will assist communities in Los Angeles, New Orleans and Indianapolis.
The launch of the fund comes as the country continues to be in a state of unrest following the Memorial Day killing of George Floyd. Protests have erupted throughout the country as Black people demand equality and an end to police brutality.
“Honestly when it came down to it, it was me and my wife talking about what we could do to kind of further this movement and progression and being able to help out our community and just being able to help,” Holiday told ESPN.
“We were just kind of sitting in the house, in the bed, thinking about it and my wife said, ‘I think you should do this and you should do the rest of your salary,’” he told the outlet. “That’s a great idea. Because we want to make an impact. God has blessed us with so much. We know a couple of things that are important are time and money, and right now, we have both. To be able to give away our money to help further this movement and Black-owned businesses that have taken a hit in COVID-19, to us, it felt like the perfect time and opportunity.”
Check out Holiday’s announcement below.