The Los Angeles Lakers have returned the more than $4 million the team received as part of the Paycheck Protection Program that Congress approved in response to the nationwide outbreak of the coronavirus.
Once team owners learned that funds from the first installment of the federal program had been depleted, the team “repaid the loan so that financial support would be directed to those most in need,” a spokesperson told the Los Angeles Times.
“The Lakers remain completely committed to supporting both our employees and the community,” the team said.
President Trump signed a more than $2.2 trillion economic relief bill last month granting $349 billion in loans to businesses with fewer than 500 employees, but the funds ran out in a matter of weeks. Trump signed a second bill last week to replenish the fund with $484 billion.
The Lakers declined to tell the Los Angeles Times why it applied for a loan through the program in the first place. There is no federal tracking system to verify who applied for or received loans, the outlet reported.
The Lakers are worth a reported $4.4 billion.
The NBA has suspended its 2019-2020 regular season, and teams are expecting to take deep financial hits due to the outbreak’s ripple effect across the economy. Leading U.S. health experts have said that teams should not expect fans to buy tickets to games until the fall at the earliest.
The Lakers are not the first highly profitable company to give back Paycheck Protection Program funds. Ruth’s Chris Steak House received criticism after it qualified for a $20 million loan from the federal government. Company officials said they plan to give the money back.
Many small-business owners have said they are having trouble applying or getting approved for loans through the program and are struggling to keep their businesses afloat during the pandemic.
