Durant Donates $1 Million To Tornado Relief; NBA, Thunder Pledge Matching Donations
(CBS/AP) The massive tornado that ripped through a handful of Oklahoma City suburbs and killed at least 50 people grabbed the attention of the sports world on Monday, especially the players and coaches with ties to the area.
Kevin Durant, a three-time scoring champion for the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder, has vowed to donate $1 million to the American Red Cross disaster relief efforts in Oklahoma.
"The Red Cross relies on its donors to perform its mission in relieving human suffering following disasters," regional CEO Janienne Bella said in a press release. "Mr. Durant's gift and support to Oklahoma comes at a time of great need and we're forever thankful for his generosity."
Following Durant's act of generosity, both the Thunder and the NBA/NBAPA have announced they will make separate $1 million donations to aid in the tornado relief.
"Our hearts go out to all those affected by the devastation that has occurred within our community this week," Thunder chairman Clay Bennett said in a statement. "We are focusing Thunder resources to help where we can in the relief efforts and to support the organizations that are on the ground assisting those affected by this week's storms. Even with so much loss, the strength and resiliency of this community have once again been on display, and we will continue to work together as our community and state recover from this disaster."
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