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Lakers legend Magic Jonson is amongst many celebrities, athletes and other superstars that have offered fans to bid on some of their time and experiences in an attempt to raise money for helping those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Johnson, who told CNN earlier this month that he hopes health experts will soon come up with treatment for Coronavirus, also added that an important part of overcoming the pandemic will be giving more access to testing and healthcare to the African American communities who have been hit the most.
In an effort to help the cause, Magic Johnson offered his own time and experience as part of Michael Rubin’s “All In Challenge.” Rubin, who is also partner in the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils decided that he wants to raise $100 million to help feeding those in need during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Also being Charmian of the giant sports-merchandise company Fanatics, Rubin decided to use the Fanatics e-commerce platform and take sports charity to a whole new level. Realising that the usual sports fundraising for good causes of signing memorabilia and auctioning tickets won’t raise anywhere near the $100 million mark, Rubin needed his celebrity friends to offer something bigger, a lot bigger.
“I wanted everyone to go all in, which wasn’t just donating something you can normally buy,” said Rubin. “Magic was one of the first,” he recalls recruiting Johnson for the cause. “When I called him, he told me, ‘I was one of those kids who didn’t know where my next meal was coming from. Of course, I’m all in.’ “
And when it comes to his unique offer, Magic is pulling no stops. He is offering to come visit you at your city and spend an hour with you at home, “at work with your co-workers”, or “at your kid’s bar mitzvah.” Then he will fly you meet him in Los Angeles and play with him H.O.R.S.E at Staples Center. And there’s more: after the game he’ll take you and ten of your friends to dinner, and after dinner your buddies will be put in a Luxury suite to watch the Lakers play, while you sit with Magic and watch the game on courtside. The visit will finish off with a tour in his own trophy room, to see all the trophies, rings and silverware he collected throughout his years as an NBA legend.
The Magic experience already drew many bids, one as high as $60,000. It’s one of 215 offers available to bid on. For now the challenge already raked $19 million in just ten days. Legal online sports-betting and gambling is another option that many are considering for using professional sports to generate much-needed cash for the economies that are struggling nowadays. States such as New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Nevada, West Virginia and others already offer legal online gambling, and many others are in the process of legalizing it in the near future.
