Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown and Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald The duo announced Tuesday night that they are leaving Donta Sports, the agency founded by the artist recently known as Kanye West, due to his recent bigoted comments.
The announcements come hours after Adidas ended its relationship with the rapper, now known as Ye.
Brown’s decision came a day after he told The Boston Globe that he would stay with Donta Sports despite not condoning Ye’s comments.
“Over the past 24 hours, I have become increasingly aware that my previous statements lacked clarity in expressing my position against recent insensitive public comments and actions,” Brown said in a statement released via Twitter on Tuesday. “For that, I apologize. In this, I try to be as clear as possible. I will always, always, stand strongly against any kind of bigotry, hate speech, misrepresentation and oppressive speech.
“In light of that, after sharing in conversations, I now recognize that there are times when my voice and my position may not align in spaces that do not align with my position or my values. That is why I am. I am terminating my association with Donta Sports.”
At the same time Donald announced his family was leaving Donta Sports, saying Yev’s comments were “the exact opposite of how we choose to live our lives and raise our children.”
“As parents and members of the community, we feel a responsibility to send a clear message that hateful words and actions have consequences and that we as human beings need to do better,” Donald wrote in his statement on Twitter. “We don’t feel our beliefs, voices, and actions come anywhere close to misrepresenting and oppressing people of any background, race, or ethnicity. We’ve had the pleasure of working with so many incredible people along the way, and hope to continue to. To empower and support other families, children, and communities through positive outreach.” Our site.”
Brown and Donald signed with Donta Sports in May.
Earlier on Tuesday, Adidas announced it was formally severing ties with Ye, which had formed a lucrative apparel and apparel partnership with the company.
“Adidas does not tolerate anti-Semitism and any other form of hate speech,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday. “Your recent comments and actions are unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.”
As part of its statement, Adidas said it would lose approximately $250 million in net income this year as a result of ending its partnership with Ye, but that it was necessary to do so in the wake of his anti-Semitic comments in recent weeks.
Yeh has made controversial comments in the past on various issues, including addiction and Covid-19 vaccines. Earlier this month, Yeh posted on Twitter that there would soon be “Death to the Jewish People 3,” an apparent reference to the US defense readiness measure known as DEFCON. He was suspended from both Twitter and Instagram.
His recent antisemitic comments have caused several companies to cut ties with the rapper or his various lines of business. Creative Artists Agency, Balenciaga, Gap and Foot Locker are among others who have ended their partnerships with him.
