James Dolan is a lifelong New York City resident and billionaire who is the latest celebrity to be diagnosed with Coronavirus. The 64-year-old owns NBA team New York Knicks and NHL team New York Rangers. The well-known businessman and entrepreneur is also the executive chairman and CEO of the Madison Square Garden Company and the executive chairman of MSG Networks.
First sports owner with Coronavirus
The Public Relations department for the New York Knicks made the announcement on Saturday that Dolan tested positive for Coronavirus. Although all professional sports are suspended at this time, Dolan is still running the show.
According to reps, he doesn't have many symptoms and is able to continue business as usual. He is in self-isolation and will hopefully remain symptom-free.
Dolan was married to Kristin Dolan for 15 years. In January of 2018, the couple decided to separate. The pair worked well together in business, but the marriage couldn't last. Kristin served as COO for Cablevision and then became the CEO of 605, an audience and data analytics company. James and Kristin have two sons together,
The United States has seen a number of athletes test positive for COVID-19, but Dolan is the first sports owner to test positive. There's no doubt that many more will follow, but as New York City COVID-19 cases surge, it's not shocking that Dolan is the first.
Doing the right thing
Just yesterday, Madison Square Garden Company let their event staff know that they would still get paid while the arena was shutdown. Originally staff was set to get paid until April 5, but the new agreement will pay them through at least May 3, 2020.
The Madison Square Garden Company owns Radio City Music Hall in New York City, Beacon Theatre in New York City, and Chicago Theatre in the windy city.
Employees of any of the MSG owned venues will get paid, as long as they have been employed by the company for at least 6 months and work an average of 20 hours each week.
Dolan is no stranger to philanthropy. In 1998, he founded the Lustgarten Foundation. The goal of the foundations is to advance the research of the diagnosis, treatment, cure, and prevention of pancreatic cancer.
Lustgarten Foundation also focuses on raising public awareness and providing support for those affected by pancreatic cancer.
Not only are owners stepping up, but many athletes also so as well. Cleveland Cavalier Kevin Love was one of the first players to donate money to arena staff affected by the suspension of the NBA season. On March 12, Love donated $100,000 to those would no longer be receiving a paycheck from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Since then, many more players and Celebrities have stepped up to help those who need it most.
