Los Angeles' 12 professional sports teams have come under fire after donating a total of $8 million to support victims of the city's wildfires and those fighting the fires.
The Rams and Chargers of the NFL, the Lakers and Clippers of the NBA, the Dodgers and Angels of the MLB, the Galaxy and LAFC of the MLS, the Ducks and Kings of the NHL, the Sparks of the WNBA and Angel City FC of the NWSL said the funds would go to multiple organizations, including the American Red Cross. , the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, World Central Kitchen and several local animal rescue organizations.
The teams and Fanatics, the sports apparel retailer and Fan Gear Store, will also distribute $3 million worth of sports merchandise to Angelenos who have been evacuated from their homes and will distribute personal hygiene kits, school supplies, sneakers and more at help sites around the city.
But the financial amount teams are donating has been criticized on social media, with some saying they should have contributed more.
Someone wrote: 'Are we supposed to be impressed by this “generosity”? That works out to about $667,000 per team (one rounding error for Shohei Ohtani or LeBron James).'
Another user commented: “This is so pathetic, especially with @Dodgers who have deferred millions of dollars to pay players and can't get more money, eat the rich.”
Los Angeles' 12 professional sports teams have come under fire after donating a total of $8 million to support victims of the city's wildfires and those fighting the blaze.
Wildfires in Los Angeles have destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 24 people
A third added: “So the teams don't care, clearly.” Pathetic.'
A fourth posted: “I feel like 8 million isn't much considering these teams are worth hundreds of millions or billions.”
“Pathetic… Only the Lakers and Dodgers should have donated this,” another added.
“Not even a million each,” another commented along with a laughing emoji.
The donation was also called “stingy” and “disrespectful” by other social media users.
According to Forbes calculations Earlier this month, the Rams were valued at $7.6 billion, the Lakers at $7.1 billion, and the Clippers and Dodgers at around $5.5 billion.
Beyoncé announced Sunday that her BeyGOOD Foundation would donate $2.5 million to the Los Angeles Fire Relief Fund. Walmart promises the same amount in cash, food, water and other necessities.
Disney has pledged $15 million in aid to those affected, the NFL is donating $5 million to efforts led by individual contributions from clubs and ownership groups of the Chargers, Rams, Minnesota Vikings, Houston Texans and NFL Foundation.
It comes as a growing force of firefighters continued to battle huge infernos across the city on Monday.
But stronger winds arrived and threatened recent progress against wildfires that destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 24 people.
Planes doused homes and hillsides with bright pink fire-retardant chemicals, crews prepared to hit hotspots across the region, and dozens of tankers arrived to replenish supplies after hydrants ran dry last week.
In less than a week, four fires around America's second-largest city have burned more than 62 square miles, about three times the size of Manhattan.
The fires also forced the NFL wild-card playoff game between the Rams and Vikings, which was played on Monday, to be moved from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood to Glendale, Arizona, and postponed the Lakers and Clippers games.
Both NBA teams were scheduled to host games in Los Angeles on Monday night, the first since the fires broke out last Tuesday.
The Lakers said in a statement that Monday's game would be “dedicated to the Los Angeles community and the first responders of Southern California.”
Lakers head coach JJ Redick, whose Pacific Palisades home was lost in the fire last week, said the franchise would do its part to help rebuild the city.
“We are committed as always to Los Angeles,” Redick said.
'We recognize that it is not just our community that has been affected by this. “We are committed to helping people as much as we can and we are going to do that.”
The National Weather Service warned of “particularly dangerous” dry and windy weather, especially on Tuesday, when wind gusts could reach 105 km/h, according to experts.
Four fires have consumed more than 62 square miles in Los Angeles' most affluent neighborhoods, with homes and A-list celebrity restaurants among the 12,300 structures leveled.
Firefighting helicopter drops water as Palisades fire grows
Much of Southern California around Los Angeles is under this extreme fire danger warning through Wednesday, including densely populated Thousand Oaks, Northridge and Simi Valley.
Firefighters made progress over the weekend on the region's two largest fires: the Eaton Fire near Pasadena and the Palisades Fire in a wealthy enclave along the Pacific Coast.
The Eaton Fire is about one-third contained, while the Palisades Fire is much less contained.
The death toll is likely to rise, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Monday. At least two dozen are missing, he said.