Author: GoneTrending

The way we watch sports is changing. While the large majority of people are still tuning into events like Thursday Night Football through traditional TV broadcasts, there are an increasing number of alternatives to take in sporting events. It’s no secret that more people are moving away from cable subscriptions and are instead choosing streaming services. While many of these same services are beginning to get into the market of offering live sports on their own platforms, most simply offer packages that allow you to stream cable TV channels.

One streaming site that has been doing it differently though has been Twitch. The Amazon-owned streaming platform is best known for being where most people go to watch video games, but over the last few years, Twitch has been expanding its offerings. One of its most popular categories is “Just Chatting” where streamers won’t actually play a video game, but instead will sit there on stream and have a conversation with their viewers. This catch-all category has allowed many streamers to try and break out from their normal streams and try something new. Now there are streamers who cook, put together PCs, or host podcasts on the platform.

It only made sense that live sports would follow shortly after. Anyone with the Twitch app has likely noticed on Thursdays that they usually get a Twitch notification advertising that evening’s Thursday Night Football game. Twitch is getting in the live sports market, but it’s doing it the way that only Twitch knows how, through personality-driven content. One of those personalities is NFL analyst and personality Kimmi Chex and when she describes what she does to get ready for a broadcast on Twitch it sounds no different than a TV broadcast. At least at first.

“I am a total connoisseur of all NFL.” Chex told Uproxx. “I work here as an in-studio host and analyst at the NFL Network and the NFL media group here in LA. So I eat breathe sleep and NFL games and NFL football. So the prep for me is really just understanding the team’s understanding the matchups and kind of the main storylines as well because as you probably know, if you just look at the last week or two weeks of NFL news every single day, their constant changes and constant things that we have to be monitoring and understanding those impacts and how that plays into the game.”

Where everything starts to change for Chex and the Twitch viewer is when the broadcast starts and the game kicks off. A traditional TV broadcast features a play-by-play commentator, a color analyst, and a sideline reporter, presenting the game in an incredibly familiar format, but one that doesn’t offer much in the way of viewer interaction. That’s where Chex and the team over at Twitch look to differentiate themselves . While they still watch the game, talk about it, and discuss it, they’re doing so less from the perspective of providing viewers that traditional experience and instead of one they can interact with. During broadcasts, Chex is reading and interacting with the chat as these games happen, getting direct feedback from viewers. A luxury that TV broadcasts do not have.

“The Twitch format completely throws out and turns everything on its head.” Chex said. “Now you have this instantaneous way to see what your viewers are thinking and questions they’re asking and understand on the fly how you can pivot your way of telling information and covering the game so that the people watching you live can understand it better. So, I think the favorite thing for me this season and working with Twitch, and having our broadcast on there is having that continual conversation not only with my cohosts but with our fans.”

For some people, this new format of watching games can sound a little weird. Why would anyone ever want to be on Twitch watching games with a total stranger? However, for Chex and these viewers, it doesn’t feel like interacting with strangers. It feels more like talking with the same group of people you see every week at your local sports bar. As Chex has been doing the broadcast she’s begun recognizing usernames and that familiarity is exciting for both her and the viewers of the broadcast. It creates a sense of community by bringing a bunch of people together to watch football as fans.

“It’s been so fun to see our fans tune in each and every week.” Chex said. “Like, we know, we have our regular and it’s so fun to see their usernames and their Twitch handles pop up every single week and be like, hey, what’s up our friends back! Because you feel like you start to kind of build a bond with them and it really, you know, it solidifies, we’re doing something right and we’re giving them what they want because they want to come back each and every week/”

That community is what makes this entire broadcasting experience different from the average television viewing experience because the way everyone watches something like the NFL is unique. Some people prefer to watch something like Thursday Night Football from an analytical perspective, or maybe they’re interested in the gambling lines, or in Chex case, it’s a community that wants someone to hang out with and talk about football. People gravitate towards her broadcasts because they see she’s a fan just like them and is going to talk about the game as a fan.

“A few weeks ago the Packers were facing the Cardinals and it’s a huge NFC showdown, and it’s a crazy game. We’re fans of the game, right? We make predictions every single week of which team we think is going to win or not. And that game literally came down to the last, like, 14 seconds and Kyler Murray threw a pick in the end zone and we lost our minds, and having that instantaneous reaction with each other was invaluable and it was so fun. And I think it was fun for the viewers as well because as much as we want to be buttoned up broadcasters, like, we’re people too and having all that instantaneous reaction together as like this fun little niche Twitch community. It is it’s beyond anything I could have ever imagined.”

Again, this may sound strange to people who are used to the traditional way we watch sports, but consider how many different ways there are to watch sports now. Not only through avenues like Twitch and streaming services, but even our own TV broadcasts. The semi-weekly Monday Night Football broadcast featuring Peyton and Eli Manning has been wildly successful. Every year around the College Football Playoff ESPN will frequently roll out a handful of different broadcasts for people to watch, like the coaches film room. CBS/Nickelodeon had a special playoff broadcast last year and plan to expand those offerings. Sports leagues are recognizing that there are more people out there you can reach if you’re willing to present sports broadcasts in different ways. Chex and her Twitch broadcasts are just another way for them to do that.

“If you want to go to a sports betting niche, you can find a feed and a stream that can do that.” Chex said. “If you want to have the X’s and O’s and the scouts feed, and really breaking down the plays, you can find that. If you want to sit and watch a casual, fun game, then you can come hang out with us on Thursdays on NFL Next Live and you can watch the game without feeling like you’re being spoken down to, or confusing, or that it’s too much too kind of handle. If you’re a more casual fan, or if you’re a really avid NFL fan, you have the option to get in there and ask a very, very specific question to NFL legends and have your question answered live. So I absolutely think it’s the next wave of sports content and sports broadcasting but probably just content in general. Right? We are constant consumers of the things we want. We have phones. We have laptops where, you know, at the click of a button, at tap of our fingers, we can find exactly what we want and our content has to reflect that, and Twitch and Amazon are perfecting that model.”

Netflix has a lot of shows. Like, a lot a lot of shows. So many shows, in fact, even the streaming service itself knows it’s pretty damn hard to keep up with them. So perhaps that’s why Netflix has just announced a way to make the overwhelming task much more manageable.

Following Netflix’s first-ever, news-packed fan event that took place earlier this fall — cheekily named “Tudum” after the service’s iconic start-up sound — the streamer has announced they are turning that idea into a full-fledged, editorial website (via The Hollywood Reporter). In a blog post shared earlier today, Netflix unveiled the ambitious project, calling the new website “a place where you can dive deeper into the stories you love.” While the website is still in its early stages, Netflix stated it has some ambitious plans for the future, and provided a bullet-point list of what you can expect from the site in the coming months:

• Get the inside scoop: Has You been renewed? When does Season 4 of Cobra Kai come out? Follow along for the latest news.

• Dig deeper: Is Maid based on a true story? What is a ‘kefta’ in Shadow and Bone? Where else have I seen the cast of The Witcher? Stories don’t have to end when the credits roll.

• Extend the story: Where can I find the Squid Game tracksuit? What’s on The Harder They Fall soundtrack? How do I make the necklace from Outer Banks? Bring your favorite stories to life with helpful tips, tricks and lists.

As you can see, Tudum aims to not only inform Netflix fans on when they can expect their favorite shows to return, but also offer insight into specific series and episodes, which, as a Witcher fan, I appreciate. In addition, Tudum will also feature several editorial channels that focus on specific types of content, such as the comedy-centric Netflix Is a Joke and the Latinx-column Con Todo.

It’s been just 24 hours since a homeless man lit the Christmas tree outside Fox News Headquarters in New York City on fire and everyone’s already sick of hearing about it. So sick in fact that a recent on-air guest absolutely lost it when the network’s host wouldn’t shut up about the blazing bush and how it somehow relates to the rampant crime causing chaos on American streets.

On a Thursday morning segment titled “America’s Crime Crisis,” host Harris Faulkner invoked the sage wisdom of one of New York’s top neighborhood watch volunteers, Meghan McCain. McCain famously tweeted updates on the “warzone” that the city had become thanks to protests happening earlier this year even though she was in her family’s estate in Virginia at the time.

So really, it makes sense that Faulkner would turn to her for help stirring up fear and outrage amongst Fox News viewers, reading bits from McCain’s Daily Mail column in which she stated, “I really don’t think people want to live in a city where even the Christmas trees need bodyguards.”

“Where are we right now that Christmas gets under attack, the trees, everything?” Faulkner asked before welcoming her guest, Democratic strategist Richard Goodstein. “It is such a signal, Richard, if they’ll set that tree on fire imagine what they will do to human beings walking around? Well, we’re finding out. The stabbings are off the charts in New York.”

Unfortunately for Faulkner, Goodstein didn’t take the bait. Instead of playing into the “War on Christmas” rhetoric Fox News has been pushing the past few days, Goodstein called out the show’s host and her fellow anchors for devoting more airtime to a burnt tree than to more serious issues, like how the unvaccinated are hurting our chances of ever ending the current pandemic.

“If Fox would put as much energy into decrying the anti-vaxxers — we have 100,000 people dead and one tree destroyed — I think there is a lack of, kind of, symmetry there,” he said. “I think that’s where the energy should go.”

Faulkner clapped back, saying the network is committed to covering all sides of the debate but her argument felt a bit weak considering other Fox News personalities like Brian Kilmeade and Tucker Carlson continue to push vaccine misinformation despite most likely being vaccinated themselves.

Here’s hoping we’re all granted a Christmas miracle this year: that the Fox News All American Christmas tree is quickly rebuilt so we don’t have to hear about it ever again.

You can watch the full exchange below:

(Via Mediaite)

The 25th anniversary of the Bloomington, Indiana-based label Secretly Canadian has marked a year-long effort to raise $250,000 for New Hope For Families, an organization that helps fight homelessness in the label’s hometown. They’ve used proceeds from the SC25 Editions series of albums, as well as the SC25 Singles series, to do so. But in its 25 years of existence, Secretly Canadian has grown into much more than just a single label. Secretly encompasses the label, Secretly Distribution, Secretly Publishing, and a group of labels including Dead Oceans, Jagjaguwar, Saddest Factory, Ghostly, Numero, and 37d03d. Now all ten these entities have bound together for a groundbreaking pledge as the final stroke on the 25th Anniversary efforts.

The entire group has committed to offset 100 percent of carbon emissions and become climate positive by 2026. This is a similar move to what the UK-based Beggars Group and Ninja Tune announced earlier this year and it’s a welcome trend in the independent record industry that can hopefully inspire majors.

For context, Secretly says that it created 150 metric tons of heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions in 2019 (from buildings, vehicles, etc.). By implementing the use of solar panels and other carbon offsets, emissions quickly went down by 22 percent in 2020. In a thorough sustainability plan, Secretly outlined every step of how they’ll achieve this. They conclude:

“We are excited to lead the way to a more sustainable independent music industry. We are committed to be a positive force for change in the face of climate change, and hope that our action will inspire others. Will you join us?”

Secretly Group COO & co-founder Ben Swanson added an additional statement, “As we grapple with climate change’s increasingly dangerous and pervasive impacts, we also are reckoning with our role in contributing to climate change. With this sustainability plan, we move from awareness to action. We are encouraged by the commitments of our peers and hope to further inspire others to join the movement for climate action.”

For the last few years, the feud between Drake and Kanye West — sorry, I mean Ye — has been the subject of endless fascination and speculation among fans. Every shot from either side was relentlessly pondered and debated, and fans took great delight in parsing each artist’s output for secret subliminal disses while goading the confrontation at every turn.

However, through it all, there was one artist among their peers who never bought into the hype. Rick Ross previously noted that he “loved” the back and forth between the two, reminding fans that the antics didn’t really put either artist at risk. “Kanye posted Drake’s address on the Instagram, but who didn’t have Drake address already?” he said.

He reiterated a similar sentiment on Wednesday night during a live interview with Billboard at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles which Uproxx attended. “This wasn’t something that I really took seriously,” he said of the so-called beef between Drake and Ye. “These are two icons, forward-thinkers, highly intelligent brothers. I didn’t really see them taking it too seriously.”

However, like many, he enjoyed seeing the two call a ceasefire for a benefit concert set to take place this week at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. “The Free Larry Hoover campaign is a great reason to come together and get on the stage. That’s what I’m excited about and happy to see these brothers pulling it off, and let’s make sure we tune in.”

Elsewhere in the interview, he also addressed his own supposed friction with Meek Mill after fans spent the summer speculating about simmering tensions between the Philly rapper and his mentor. Those rumors intensified with a line on Ross’ new single, “Little Havana” from his upcoming album Richer Than I Ever Been dropping this week.

“N****s soul being sold and still own a leash,” Ross raps on the track. “Roger Goodell boy, he ain’t a corniche / I was really throwin’ money, I really saw Meech / And I let them rappin’ n****s get closer to Meek.” However, at the Grammy Museum, Ross said there was no ill will behind the lyrics. “I feel like we’re both hustlers,” he said. “That’s one thing about life, you either grow together or grow apart. As a boss, you make that decision, because whatever it is you want to do, Ricky Rozay wants to see you do it. There’s a lot of people that didn’t last or was still down with me the way Meek is — so I want to see the homie shine regardless.”

Richer Than I Ever Been is out 12/10 via Epic Records.

You can have your Spider-Men and origin stories of the human Buzz Lightyear that the toy is based on. The only Disney movie I’m excited for is Deep Water. The erotic thriller (off to a good start) is directed by Adrian Lyne (Fatal Attraction, Indecent Proposal, Unfaithful) and stars Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas as a couple “stuck in a loveless marriage that drives them to take pleasure in deadly mind games. But what begins as a way to spark life into their marriage quickly derails as people around them begin dying.”

If it wasn’t for Deep Water, Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas never would have started dating — and subsequently broken up, leading to the instantly iconic photos of a cardboard cutout of the No Time to Die star being left in the trash outside Affleck’s home. Even if the movie sucks, however unlikely that is, the press tour would be amazing.

Unfortunately, we may never get one. The Wrap reports:

Deep Water, a thriller from 20th Century Studios starring Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas, has been removed from the theatrical release calendar. The film was originally set to be released January 14, 2022, but it was removed from the schedule released on Thursday. It’s unclear if the film will be rescheduled at a later date.

I’m not saying Disney prioritizing yet another live-action remake over the Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas erotic thriller is everything that’s wrong with movies these days, but I’m also not NOT saying it.

(Via The Wrap)

RuPaul fans are looking forward to the new year, as the 14th season of RuPaul’s Drag Race is set to premiere on January 7, 2022 on VH1. Today, the show unveiled its guest judges and there’s a lot of musical firepower on the roster.

Appearing on the show next season (as TVLine notes) are Lizzo, Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Keys, and Sarah McLachlan, as well as Taraji P. Henson, Andra Day, Loni Love, Christine Chiu, Ava Max, Nicole Byer, Ts Madison, Alec Mapa, Dove Cameron, and Dulce Sloan. Some of them also appear in a new teaser video for the upcoming season.

Fans of both Lizzo and Drag Race know that the artist and the show have a strong preexisting relationship. She was a guest judge on the show in 2018 and told Rolling Stone of the experience, “To work with RuPaul is a dream. It was a bucket list [item]. I’m very fortunate to have been in the same room as RuPaul. You learn so much just by watching the way RuPaul operates. Apparently there are some petitions for me to be a permanent judge [laughs].” In 2019, she also recruited a bunch of drag queens from the show for a new “Juice” video.

Lizzo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

For years, NBA pundits and fans have responded to the league’s three-point revolution by saying “midrange is dead” or “midrange is a lost art.” It’s not necessarily reflective of reality — plenty of teams and players still occupy the midrange, just less so than before because they understand it’s a region that is best considered a comfortable secondary option.

There are outliers, of course, such as Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic, and Chris Paul. For many stars, though, it remains a vital counter to diversify one’s approach — usually a mandate for postseason success — and thrive where the defense is typically willing to concede space.

Months removed from a surprise Eastern Conference Finals appearance, Trae Young is diversifying his approach to thrive in the spaces the defense concedes and aiming to establish last season’s run as a yearly routine rather than any sort of outlier. He’s playing the best basketball of his career and issuing a legitimate case to be considered among the league’s best players.

Young’s pick-and-rolls with Clint Capela are one of the most effective actions in the game. Increasingly, opponents are sitting on Capela’s dives to the rim or switching screens altogether and preventing Young from effortlessly floating a lob to the big man. Just as he did last year, he’ll still parlay that real estate into open floaters. But driving so deep into the paint offers defenses a chance to acutely play the one-on-two and fluster Young as both a scorer and facilitator, a feat the Philadelphia 76ers accomplished for stretches during last spring’s playoff series.

So, instead of wiggling his way into precarious situations as often, Young is embracing more jumpers off the bounce inside the arc. According to Synergy, his floater frequency has dropped from 35.7 percent last season to 27.2 percent this season. Meanwhile, per Cleaning The Glass, his frequency of shots between 14 feet and the three-point arc, classified as “long midrange,” has ballooned to a career-high 18 percent. His previous career-high, set last year, was 13 percent.

When the opposition parks in Capela’s orbit on the roll and abandons Young, he’s seamlessly firing and cashing open pull-ups. He’s shooting 52 percent on long midrange attempts, which ranks in the 85th percentile. Few players can sustain that level of efficiency, but the quality of looks he’s generating from those spots is quite encouraging.

His yo-yo handle and jitterbug shiftiness also enable him to create space when the opportunities aren’t quite as simple, and he holsters a nasty shot fake to send defenders flying past him.

Last season, Young was a leading practitioner of the “short-stop” foul-drawing gambit, one the NBA has looked to legislate out as it grants defenses more freedom with physicality and aims to avoid rewarding scorers for hunting contact. Those general rules have contributed to Young’s free-throw rate declining from .468 over the past two years to a career-low .298 this year.

Rather than seeking those short-stop fouls as regularly, Young is snaking around high screens and effectively doubling the utility of the picks to manufacture separation and bury cozy pull-ups. By adapting his game, he’s avoided any precipitous drop in scoring efficiency. His 58.1 percent true shooting is 2.8 points higher than league average, better than last season’s mark of plus-1.7 and just behind his career-best of plus-3.0 set in 2019-20.

While other perimeter-oriented foul merchants like Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander haven’t yet tailored their shot-making to mitigate diminished free-throw rates, Young has recognized the merits of vacant hardwood and the dangers of a small guard venturing into the paint these days. Whereas defensive physicality could previously be consistently leveraged into free throws, the NBA’s amended officiating has reduced those opportunities. Young, unlike some contemporaries, is simply migrating away from all that reliance on trickery and toward the space available, resulting in easygoing shots.

In addition to a holistic leap from midrange, he’s also canning triples at a career-high rate of 39.2 percent after shooting 34.3 percent his initial three years. He’s long showcased feathery, elite touch inside the arc on floaters and free throws. Now, he’s marrying two-point excellence with long-range results.

Specifically, Young has been a deadeye on pull-up threes, draining 39.3 percent of them, well above his 33.5 percent clip the prior two seasons. Among 62 players hoisting at least two off-the-bounce threes per game, Young’s 39.3 percent number ranks fifth. Once a marksman whose volume and gumption exceeded true production, he’s achieving all three and it’s helping fuel a standout campaign.

Do not let the Atlanta Hawks’ middling 13-12 record confuse you. Young is at the apex of his game this season. He’s an All-NBA guard. Few ball-handlers have outshined him. His passing wizardry persists and seems a little more precise than before. His scoring has been fine-tuned to account for rule changes and the long ball is peaking to unmatched heights. Even if the three-point shooting mildly falls off, he’s produced a .357 free-throw rate the last 10 games, a notable uptick from .261 in the first 15 games. That could offset some shooting regression as he rediscovers his gaudy free-throw rate.

This is Trae Young, a steadfast playmaking savant whose scoring is catching up to punctuate his status as an offensive virtuoso and budding top-10 superstar.

These past two years have been hard for everyone. Even celebrities, while extremely privileged, have struggled to balance work and life while turning out constant content in quarantine (celebrities — they’re just like us!). Saweetie knows this all too well. The rapper has been hustling hard this past year between firing off hit singles and making TV appearances. Because she’s constantly on the clock, Saweetie has been feeling burnt out. That’s why she hopes to one day build a wellness resort geared towards celebrities to focus on their mental health.

Saweetie recently sat down with People to talk about how her overloaded schedule is affecting her mental health:

“I try to take things day to day. Sometimes I can’t look at my calendar on my weekly schedule because it’ll give me anxiety,” she said. “I feel like what I’m working for is starting to pay off, so I’m just really grateful to be acknowledged. […] It’s like I live, sleep, eat and breathe music and business. My team is really small, so I have to take on responsibilities that eventually somebody else will, but because my team is small, I have to help them out. It’s just trying to find balance right now. I have no balance. Everything is just work, work, work and I don’t have an outlet. I don’t have a therapist. I don’t hang out with any of my friends because I work so much, so it’s just trying to thug it out into until the New Year. I feel like I’m being run down to the ground right now and my body doesn’t feel good. I’ve had mental breakdowns and it’s just really stressful, but it’s nice to be acknowledged because it lets me know that my hard work isn’t going unnoticed.

After seeing other musicians — like Doja Cat, for example — talk about the difficulties of constantly working, Saweetie says she hopes to one day “create a resort for celebrities and their mental health.” “You see artists, especially women artists, venting online and it really makes my soul sad that no one is protecting our mental health,” she told People. “We’re working so much and mental health is important because if we’re not healthy, then we can’t work and if we can’t work, there’s no music.”

She also hopes to build schools and “help out people in communities that look like me.” But along with hoping she takes after Gwyneth Paltrow’s massive wellness empire or leans into philanthropy, Saweetie also has the goal of one day becoming a billionaire. “If I can get some investors before I become a billionaire, creating a wellness resort for celebrities and public figures, athletes, entertainers is like one of my primary goals,” she said.

Read Saweetie’s full interview with People here.

Saweetie is a Warner Music Artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The holiday season is a great time to spread kindness to loved ones and strangers alike. That’s not just common sense, it’s science. Research suggests that people are happier when they can see their generosity making a positive impact on someone else. You don’t need to give a huge amount, either: even donating a few dollars produces a “warm glow” for the giver and helps out a person in need.

When it comes to mobilizing communities to spread kindness to one another, T-Mobile doesn’t just talk about making the world a more joyous, equitable place—they deliver when it matters most.

“We don’t wait for change, we make it,” said Brigitta Witt, T-Mobile’s vice president of social impact and sustainability. “T-Mobile makes that change by focusing our efforts on three key areas. We strive to close the digital divide; promote diversity, equity, and inclusion inside and outside our walls; and build a more sustainable future.”

As we look ahead to 2022 and beyond, Witt noted that the challenges facing people and the planet cannot be solved by one company, sector, or country. But acknowledging this interconnectedness doesn’t preclude the company from giving big and taking bold steps to create a connected world where everyone can thrive.

T-Mobile’s inaugural 2020 Corporate Responsibility Report details their full scope of ESG initiatives, from post-disaster aid in Puerto Rico to climate risk mitigation to programs that invest in youth entrepreneurship like the Changemaker Challenge. Here are some of the highlights that set them apart:

Bridging the Digital Divide

To ensure everyone can participate in our increasingly digital world and the 5G economy, T-Mobile launched Project 10Million, a $10.7 billion campaign to give fast, reliable internet to 10 million student households in underserved communities.

Via T-Mobile

Through this initiative, T-Mobile partners with districts like California’s 35,000-student Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) to ensure students have equitable access to the tools they need to excel in school. As one of the most diverse in the country, one-third of OUSD’s students are learning English for the first time, and almost 9 out of 10 low-income students in its K–12 schools lack home internet connections.

“This left a huge disparity between those prepared with the tools for meaningful remote learning and those without,” Witt explained.

T-Mobile and #OaklandUndivided worked together with OUSD to give hotspots and wireless devices to students. With the help of Project 10Million, Witt said OUSD improved its student connectivity rate from 12% to 98%.

OUSD is just one of the thousands of school districts T-Mobile hopes Project 10Million will reach with free or highly subsidized data plans to Bridge the Digital Divide. As of September 2021, they have connected more than 3 million K–12 students across the country.

Equity In Action

The widespread outrage surrounding the murders of unarmed Black people and subsequent protests for racial and economic justice compelled T-Mobile to use its platform and voice to drive action and expand its existing diversity and inclusion commitments. This meant rethinking Equity In Action across its entire business.

Witt noted that in response to the murder of George Floyd last year, both T-Mobile and their employees (through a matching program), donated to the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund for a total of $550,000. Additionally, as part of a $25 million commitment that had previously been made to drive their broad diversity and inclusion work, they immediately donated to five organizations: NUL, NAN, NAACP, Rainbow PUSH Coalition, and NCBCP for a total of $1.25 million.

The donations to nationally-known organizations are just one prong of T-Mobile’s Equity In Action commitments.

Via T-Mobile

In addition to the investments they’ve already made, the company has also established new programs for their employees, customers, and communities. Their NextTech Diversity Program provides career training and placement for thousands of underrepresented candidates to take on roles as 5G network technicians, while their Lead Magenta Next program creates more opportunities for previously untapped talent and strengthens their recruiting pipeline. Witt added they also recently launched a company-wide training called One Team, Together Learning Journey, which will take all employees through an expansive multi-year experience to help them form more inclusive habits in the workplace.

Mobilize for a Thriving Planet

Witt noted that meeting these social responsibility goals isn’t possible if we don’t have a healthy, thriving planet that’s resilient in the face of a changing climate. The company is on track to meet their goal of sourcing 100% renewable energy for their total electricity usage by the end of 2021. That goal, set back in 2018 with the RE100 pledge, was an industry first.

Via T-Mobile

“We take responsibility for our environmental footprint by putting a stake in the ground to go green to preserve our planet for future generations, while also setting an example that others can follow to do the same,” Witt said.

As part of its effort to Mobilize for a Thriving Planet, T-Mobile is also keen on reducing atmospheric carbon. They set two carbon reduction targets grounded in the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), and they’re “future-proofing” network infrastructure against the effects of climate change.

How you can help

T-Mobile is making thoughtful, meaningful investments towards its social responsibility goals, but they know engaging their communities is the best way to reach those in need.

Due to the pandemic, many are unable to afford holiday gifts for their families this year. You may be one of those people, or you may know someone who is struggling.

That’s why this December the company is partnering with Pay Away the LayAway, “an amazing organization working to make a difference for families in need by paying off their layaway balances that include gifts for their children, such as games, toys, books, backpacks, clothes, and coats,” Witt explained. “We understand how much of a financial strain the pandemic has put on families.”

T-Mobile is rallying employees and the general public to raise up to $1 million for this cause, and there’s still time to get in on the action. From now through December 14, everyone can join in donating to Pay Away the LayAway. T-Mobile is asking people to retweet the #TMobileGivesBack post to trigger a $5 donation to Pay Away the LayAway.

Fa la la la la layayaways with @PayAwayLayaway nn#TMobileGivesBack with your help (unless you’re an angry elf). For every retweet through 12/14, weu2019ll donate $5 to pay off layaways for families, up to $200k.pic.twitter.com/C8RgDbRcpt

— T-Mobile (@T-Mobile)
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“Because of the way we’ve set up this campaign, one-click or tweet will help make the difference for a family this holiday season. It’s so easy! And when we all work together, we can make a bigger impact,” Witt said.