Kyrie Irving to donate $1.5 million to WNBA players who opt out this season

Kyrie Irving (Erik Drost, Wikimedia Commons)

Brooklyn Nets star point guard Kyrie Irving of Melbourne, Australia has agreed to donate $1.5 million to WNBA players who have decided to miss this season because of causes related to either coronavirus or social justice according to the Associated Press.

The financial assistance has been put in place to help many female basketball players who would lose a portion of their income for not playing.

On Monday, Irving also created the KAI Empowerment Initiative. In addition to helping the WNBA players financially, the program will give players access to a comprehensive financial literacy program.

Among the players who have decided not to play this season are Washington Mystics guard Natasha Cloud of Broomall, Pennsylvania, and Atlanta Dream point guard Renee Montgomery of Saint Albans, West Virginia. Both Cloud and Montgomery decided to not play for social reform reasons.

In order for players to receive financial support from Irving’s initiative, players must prove they are not receiving economic support from another source. It is unsure at this time if Cloud would qualify from Irving’s program because it has already been reported that Converse was set to pay her forfeited salary according to Tyler Byrum of NBC Sports.

Even though Irving was born in Australia, he moved to the United States when he was two years old. He was raised mostly by his father and aunts because his mother died when he was only four.

The 2020 WNBA season began on July 25 at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida without any spectators. Ironically, the Mystics and Dream scored the most points this past weekend in the WNBA. Atlanta defeated the Dallas Wings 105-95, and Washington defeated the Indiana Fever 101-76.

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