Jrue, Lauren Holiday start fund to help nonprofits, Black businesses

New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday and Lauren Holiday, a two-time Olympic gold medalist with the U.S. women's national soccer team, will contribute his remaining regular-season game checks to a new fund for social justice initiatives, the married couple announced Wednesday.

"With everything going on in this world, it made me and my wife realize that we aren't invested in our community as we feel we should be. ... Even though it's kind of a kick in the pants, you kind of feel like I should've known this or I should've been doing this before," Jrue told ESPN's Andrew Lopez. "But you're never too late."

The money, which could be as much as $5.3 million, will be used to start the Jrue and Lauren Holiday Social Justice Impact Fund. The initiative will primarily distribute funds to nonprofits and Black-owned businesses in New Orleans; Los Angeles and Compton, California; and Indianapolis. Money will be dedicated to citywide initiatives in those locations as well. The fund will also support 10 other U.S. communities and commits $500,000 to schools, including historically Black colleges and universities.

"A couple of things that are important are time and money, and right now, we have both," Jrue Holiday said. "To be able to give away our money to help further this movement and Black-owned businesses that have taken a hit in COVID-19, to us, it felt like the perfect time and opportunity."