Ayton, Griner raise funds for causes
Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton and Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner are using the power of gaming and social media to raise money for COVID-19 relief and social justice.
Ayton and Griner are two of 11 athletes joining forces with Facebook Gaming to livestream games exclusively on Facebook and their own Facebook pages using a Live Donate button to raise money for two of the most prominent causes in the United States and beyond.
“Athletes continue to be remarkable forces for good on social media and we’re excited for this particular group to use Facebook Gaming this summer to entertain fans and raise money for incredibly important causes,” Evan Shugerman, Facebook Athlete Sports Partnerships Lead, said in a news release Tuesday.
Griner’s Facebook page can be found here, and Ayton's can be found here.
The games can also be seen be following this link.
Facebook is also donating $20,000 to the charity of choice for Ayton, Griner and nine other athletes – Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz), Julian Edelman (New England Patriots), Allie Long, (U.S. Soccer/Reign FC), Alex Caruso (Los Angeles Lakers), Bogdan Bogdanović (Sacramento Kings), JaVale McGee (Los Angeles Lakers), Josh Richardson (Philadelphia 76ers), Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls) and Tacko Fall (Boston Celtics).
Ayton’s $20,000 is going towards NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and Griner’s is for Hunger: Not Impossible, Facebook confirmed.
The Suns (26-39) will continue their season July 31 as the NBA will resume its 2019-20 season next month with 22 teams at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
The Mercury will play in a shortened 22-game regular season likely starting next month at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.