In these uncertain times, there have been beautiful stories of people and organizations coming together to help each other. This is especially true in the world of sports, with most leagues around the world pausing due to COVID-19. Players and organizations coming together to help pay staff salaries, donations and other acts of good measure have been seen in the sporting world. Just not from Jeremy Jacobs, owner of the Boston Bruins. He needs to do a bit better.
This afternoon, the Bruins released one of the worst statements that the sporting world has seen since the outbreak began. The statement reads:
Delaware North today announced temporary business stabilization measures relating to Boston Bruins and TD Garden full-time salaried associates due to the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 crisis on our operations.
Effective April 1, 2020, 68 of our full-time salaried associates will be placed on temporary leave, receiving one week of paid leave and eight weeks of full benefits. Additionally, as of April 1, 2020, 82 of our full-time salaried associates will receive an indefinite salary reduction. Those associates not impacted by the temporary leave or salary reduction have employment contracts.
As relayed to our associates today, none of these decisions were reached without difficult and painful deliberations. These measures are intended to be temporary with associate employment and compensation returning once our business resumes to its normal state from this unprecedented stoppage.
What a way to endear your organization to your fans and the world, eh?
It’s all About the Money for Jacobs
And it isn’t exactly like the Bruins are a debt-ridden sixth division soccer team in England. This comes from an owner who’s worth $3.1 billion and owns one of the fifth most valuable NHL team. The fact that Jacobs can’t find it within himself to help his essential staff during a pandemic is Dr. Evil-esque.
I edited the Boston Bruins’ statement for brevity and clarity. https://t.co/o7W8uJOnjI pic.twitter.com/Lhr6oxkEaE
— Mike Beauvais (@MikeBeauvais) March 25, 2020
Not only is the billionaire ignoring the needs of people with no guaranteed future, he is also leading the biggest botch job in the league in regard to COVID-19. Boston was the last team in the league to announce any form of pay for employees during the suspension. Then, that pay was changed to “only if the games are cancelled, not postponed.”
This isn’t exactly what one would call saintly behavior. The fact of the matter is that isn’t even the first time that Jacobs has shown that he cares about money more than anything else.
In 2012, Jacobs asked for a salary rollback after signing multiple players to massive extensions.
While Jacobs has the right to whatever he pleases with his money, it shows quite a nice side of him to openly say that he doesn’t care about his employees. Without these people, the operations of the team simply wouldn’t be possible. To just cast them off into the wind during a global crisis is incredibly disingenuous and despicable. To say that the workers deserve a better boss would be a monumental understatement, and Jacobs ought to make this right.
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