The Los Angeles Lakers, one of the richest NBA franchises, applied for and received $4.6 million in federal loan aid earmarked for small businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic, the team said on Monday.
Forbes recently ranked the Lakers second on its list of most valuable NBA teams, with a valuation of $4.4 billion, slightly behind the the New York Knicks valuation of $4.6 billion. The Lakers have returned that money after learning that the pool of federal lending assistance from the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program's initial allotment of $350 billion had been drained of cash because of the huge demand for it, according to the franchise., with a valuation of $4.4 billion, slighty behind the the New York Knicks valuation of $4.6 billion.
SHAME on them and all these super Rich franchises who did this. We have such income inequality in the richest of countries. Disgusting!
DayUm. Mike drop. Nuff said💯
This is truly disgusting why would this organization take money that was meant for small businesses people are suffering and this billion dollar company took money that we couldn't get because of greed greed like this...returning the money..this truly hurts
What is wrong with these people!?!?!?
jerry buss would have been proud of the management applying for the loan - is how he became a billionaire Lakers
Lool ... returned though?
Applying for this, that’s not Mamba mentality
The lakers applied? And got $4.6 million?...This is outrageous! I heard the Knicks applied for disaster relief and they sent us Keith Van Horn. LakersLoan
Lakers suck
In what alternate universe are the Lakers considered a small business? Someone should be horsewhipped for even applying for that money.
realDonaldTrump Clearly our government doesn’t know the difference between corporations and small businesses!
LA Lakers are a foul organization if they don’t return SMALL businesses owners money realDonaldTrump is going to deal with this!
espn will not say a single bad thing about them
lesbrains Lollllolol
I usually don't make any comments on most matters...but ture small businesses are closing, some will never reopen and the Lakers, when have they been a small business, and they applied for the loan and only returned the money because the funds ran out...just don't understand
Superman James is doing his stuff.
FINE THOSE CORPORATIONS MILLIONS! DISGUSTING!
Lol why did the lakers apply for a small business loan
Mother fckr
I’m so angry at The Government. Large corporations have gotten HUGE assistance from the SBA, PPP, and others. They’ve enjoyed HUGE profits for years and years and years. I still haven’t received my stimulus check, just like MILLIONS of other regular Americans. I’m tired of it.
And technically the person that filled out the application should be held responsible along with the organization for receiving that money that they didn't deserve, and the Lakers are worth billions, unbelievable.
I was highly surprised that the LAKERS took money from what was to go to small businesses WoW but they returned the money under pressure so hopefully this money will go to the ones that really need it.
When businesses want welfare, they get it with no questions asked. When PEOPLE need help, you cry socialism and let them die.
Evil greedy bastards
Could've just asked KingJames to spot you.
KingJames Y’all cool with this
fuckyoujeaniebuss
I’m a Lakers fan but this is disgusting and out right embarrassing for that franchise.
my team and this is fucking pitiful.
1000's of Small Businesses will fail because Donald J Trump said: 'I will be the oversight' of Stimulus Funds!
Why would they even apply for an SBA loan knowing there are smaller businesses that are desperate to keep their business going? Greedy assholes.
Someone got caught....
why are large orgs returning the money?
That is totally disgusting!
Why did they even bother applying? And how many other large companies like them got approved but are quietly keeping it?
Love my Lakers, but this is bullshit at its finest .... like they f-in need it. Meanwhile some of my family are loosing everything they have.
DiggsandCo As should. 🤨
How many of these businesses are rinsing those funds?
Who, in that organization had the nerve to even apply for a loan?
Everyone’s missing the key to the PPP story. It’s not that TBTF banks are giving loans to public companies. I’ve analyzed the filings & found they are FIRST providing SBAgov funds to Co’s to which the banks have direct prior debt exposures. Self bailout federalreserve USOCC
Did LeBron apply for it did management? Why is one pictured & not the other? 🧐🧐🧐
damn shame
Good. But they still suck at morals.
👀👀
The rich scamming for money which is allocated to help the real people who need it.I say fine them double of more of what they apples and got when they didn’t need it in the first place.
Sad.
thank you Lakers for returning the money so small business owners might be able to get some help didTheRightThing
GreggHoush Wow that is amazing than us still struggling to get a grant or loan in Africa
SMDH 😐
Stonekettle 😡
Capitalism sucks
KendraWrites No longer a fan! Disgusting
But my dry cleaner & local favorite restaurant didn’t...why would Lakers even apply? Fucking snakes
Wow! How in the world were the LA Lakers even approved? It seems that we don't understand what it means to be a 'small business'. I am having a hard time with this one.
Ah, so few people blame the government who is in charge of this money! Problem is why they received it, not why they applied it! Clear corruption here and no one question that?
Bull shit. I am a 1 person sole proprietor & did not get a dime. I've been in business 28 years, Shame on the Buss family. MagicJohnson ESPNNBA YahooSports TheAthletic CBSSports SInow ColinCowherd PetrosAndMoney wojespn MarkG_Medina KingJames
It is in humane to apply for this money when you are over qualified and have a billionaire owner/superstar player on your team.
Shame on the fuckers for applying in the first place.
🤦🏼♀️😳 WOW
deray Why would they even apply for it? SMFH
Do RitzCarlton next!!
It is amazing how craven these companies are with little or no thought to the long-term impact on their brands. I will NEVER eat at a shakeshack or watch a Lakers game again.... and I will evangelize this message to anyone who will listen.
thanksfornothinglakers
Could you believe that .
Not even a loan. If it was used towards payroll wasn’t it forgiven? So don’t even call it a loan, it was tax payer money never 2 B paid back. What’s is value of Lakers franchise? Something with a B I’m sure. The Lakers are a bunch of scumbags. realDonaldTrump oversight now!
axman643 when this money is 'returned' where is it returned to? does it get redisbursed to small businesses?
I’ll tap this is another example of large large companies taking the money away from small business show the unethical and in morality of what is governing our country today. Vote in 2020 greed, greed, greed.
Nice to see a conscience...even if it’s driven by fear of bad PR . Whatever works.
deray I now know how the wealthy stay that way. Use others’ money at every turn.
deray The sad part is that $4.6 million is nothing to them. Imagine how much that 'small' amount of money could do for actual small businesses?
This is sad.
deray Why did they apply for it in the first place?
deray It’s important to keep pointing out that these companies are applying for this money! It’s not just accidentally sent to them.
deray “Poor, poor pitiful me.”
deray
Why did they apply in the first place?
Stonekettle WTAF US WRONG WUTH THESE MFers? Greed has engulfed our world and America. The money was for small businesses. If you have to ask if your business is small enough TGEN IT ISNT. INSANE-O- METER IS PEGGED AND THE GLASS IS BROKEN OUT!
Total Bullshit should never have happened
Stonekettle Jim's been tweeting about the press all day. Pushing back against people who want a 'Free press' in their vision. I imagine that it was a free press that uncovered this about the Lakers. What corporate ideology was CNBC pushing?
Totally unrelated, but Trump has been promised a role in Space Jam 2.
One problem is that these large businesses are applying for the assistance, which is shameful enough in itself; but, the bigger problem here is how they have been approved to receive the money. The distribution of this money needs to be re-evaluated ASAP.
Stonekettle Meanwhile here in Canada: The Statium which is home to the Raptors and Maple Leafs is being turned into a kitchen to feed frontline workers and the homeless: God I love being canadian right now.
Stonekettle Given the obsequious love-fest it hosted in celebration of a guy who OPENLY CONFESSED TO RAPE (but only after it became clear that he would never be prosecuted), I thought there could never be anything that would lower my opinion of the LA Lakers organization. Never say never.
More liberal privileged friends of AnnaForFlorida Why do liberals don’t practice what they preach?
Stonekettle
We need term limit, the entire congress is corrupt. Fuck the lobbyists.
Pathetic and evil and disgusting. I don’t know how Lakers executives can even sleep at night.
Whoever approved this bs is a disgrace. It’s been happening just like Harvard. While most small businesses are struggling to get their loan approval. So stupid!!!
Stonekettle This is just shit by the Lakers. Yeah they should give it back. But they NEVER should have applied for nor received it.
'Applied for'....it wasn't a mistake lmfaooo pathetic ass franchise.
jonas_creteur
This is embarrassing !
Stonekettle Whoever wrote this headline is a clown. The Lakers’ primary owners are technically one of the “poorest” in all of sports. Read up on their ownership structure first lmao. This is DC’s fault for valuing corporations over actual small businesses fwiw.
Stonekettle Why are these large orgs allowed to continue the application process? Isn't there screening?
at least they returned it.... some other billionaire corporations? you aint seeing a dime of that back... in general: billionaires are trash.
Stonekettle It's sad they probably had to be shamed into returning it. Why'd they take it in the first place?
Stonekettle Seriously? Sports teams have enough money, they can suck it up for a season, or two. They're in no danger of bankruptcy.
'Small business' lol
Is the list of recipients public? It needs to be
Stonekettle These fuckers 🙄 THERE NEEDED TO BE MORE OVERSITE WITH THAT MONEY
Stonekettle How are the banks making these bad loans in the first place? Who’s approaching whom?
Stonekettle JFC, that was some kind of in-your-face grift right there!
Stonekettle
Damn I was a fan....but now I have to do what needs to be done... Lakers...you are CANCELLED
Disgusting. Fine team 20M taking advantage
Noble thing to do, the right thing would have been not to apply for the funds
Stonekettle Who’s in charge of applying for these funds? The water boy?🤡
Wow. This says it all.
The Lakers didn't even tell the public who the two players were that got the coronavirus. So no surprise they applied for the government stimulus.
Sickest part is so many mom and pops would benefit dramatically from 10k.
Wonder how much applied for to prop up their Pravda propaganda?
Thank God
Well...when you have KingJames (the best basketball player in the world) who loses to StephenCurry30 more than he wins...it’s kind of understandable they would need financial help 🤷♂️
Mistake made - mistake corrected.
The audacity of many of these large corporations..
This is just so crazy! However I’m still waiting for mine. marcorubio ChaseforBiz WhiteHouse
NBA squeezing money from tax payers while NBA loves & cheers for Communist China! China imprisons hyuger Muslims & felon gong RELIGIOUS people. Forces them to build & make products to sell to other countries(slave labor) Abuses prisoners & sells organs without their permission
Grate
WTF!!!
They did not received the $$ magically. Worse part is not that they applied knowing it's not meant for them, worst part is that they still got it.
People are forgetting that is was the government which wrote the rules that allowed this to happen
Sick.
Why did they even take advantage of the program and why was the program so badly administered that they got money?
Owner should be hung for applying
Free money unless you get outed publicly
🤦♂️
Keep airing everyone one out. This is madness.