New Orleans Pelicans: Jrue Holiday is Making the Bubble Matter

Jrue Holiday of the New Orleans Pelicans is making sure his time in the bubble has a positive effect on the communities he loves.

There are bigger things than New Orleans Pelicans‘ basketball, which is why Jrue Holiday wants to make sure that his time in the Orlando bubble does more than just provide entertainment.

Yesterday, Lauren and Jrue Holiday announced the creation of the Jrue and Lauren Holiday Social Justice Impact Fund, which pledges to assist charities and organizations all over America, focusing on Black-owned businesses..

https://twitter.com/PelicansNBA/status/1283468862722383874

This isn’t just a gesture. Holiday will put up his game checks for the rest of the season, which could be up to $5.3 million, a nice kick-start to what will undoubtedly be a lifelong venture.

Holiday spoke to ESPN about his desire to get more involved in the community, saying:

"“With everything going on in this world, it made me and my wife realize that we aren’t invested in our community as we feel we should be. This is one of those times to really, even though it’s kind of a kick in the pants, you kind of feel like I should’ve known this or I should’ve been doing this before. But you’re never too late. This is our time to contribute.”"

Holiday is just one of many New Orleans Pelicans to get involved in the recent equal rights movement in some way. Both Jaxson Hayes and Lonzo Ball participated in Black Lives Matter rallies, and Lonzo released a song called “Don’t Shoot” in response to George Floyd’s Killing.

The Holidays’ fund will focus on black-owned businesses but will also donate a substantial amount to higher education, specifically historically Black colleges and universities.

Though Holiday is the constant topic of trade rumors, the vast majority of New Orleans Pelicans’ fans would love him to retire as a Pelican and remain a fixture in the community.

Big up, Holidays!