Aaron Donald and Jaylen Brown are the latest people to cut ties with Ye, the controversial rapper formerly known as Kanye West.
The Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle announced Tuesday Twitter that he is parting ways with Ye’s marketing agency, Donda Sports, following the rapper’s “irresponsible” anti-Semitic remarks.
“Our family has made the decision to part ways with Donda Sports,” read a statement from Donald and his wife, Erica Donald. “The recent comments and displays of hatred and anti-Semitism are the exact opposite of how we choose to live our lives and raise our children. We find them irresponsible and against everything we believe in as a family.”
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After initially saying he would stay with Donda Sports on Monday, Brown, the Boston Celtics star, backtracked and announced Tuesday. Twitter that he is also “terminating (his) association with Donda Sports.”
“In the past 24 hours, I have been able to reflect and better understand how my previous statements lacked clarity in expressing my stance against recent insensitive public remarks and actions,” Brown wrote in a statement. “For that, I apologize. And in this, I seek to be as clear as possible. I have always, and will always, continue to stand strongly against any anti-Semitism, hate speech, misrepresentation and oppressive rhetoric of any kind.”
Donald and Brown signed to Donda Sports, which focuses on marketing and off-field ventures, in May. Wide receiver Antonio Brown announced in February that he was named the president of Donda Sports.
“Donda is about ownership, empowerment and discovering the next superheroes,” Antonio Brown wrote in February before attending Super Bowl 56 with Ye. “This is for the people who counted us out, for everyone who said we can’t – we say WE WILL.”
On Tuesday, Antonio Brown stood by Ye amid the backlash and said he is still affiliated with Donda Sports.
“As the President of Donda Sports, I remain,” Antonio Brown wrote in a shared statement Twitter. “I remain dedicated to helping clarify statements blown out of proportion by the media. I remain committed to bringing new ideas, experiences and design to our world. I remain in support of the humanity that is Ye.”
Ye faced a major fallout after sharing anti-Semitic sentiments through social media and in various interviews. The rapper was banned from Twitter and Instagram earlier this month for violating their policies. Adidas ended its partnership and lucrative sneaker deal with Ye on Tuesday, removing Ye from the Forbes billionaire list.
Ye’s talent agency, CAA, dropped him on Monday. Balenciaga fashion house cut ties with him last week and JP Morgan Chase also ended their business relationship with the rapper.
“The Shop,” which stars LeBron James and Maverick Carter, also scrapped a recently recorded interview with Ye because the rapper engaged in “more hate speech and extremely dangerous stereotypes,” Carter said. Andscape.
Donald previously said he signed with Donda Sports because of its “family atmosphere”.
“It made sense to hear the whole spectrum of everything that’s happened, what they’re going to bring, the family atmosphere they’ve got in Donda Sports,” Donald said after his signing in May. “For me, it was a no-brainer, so I think it’s a hell of an opportunity to open a lot of different doors and a lot of different things outside of football that I want to be involved in.”
On Tuesday, however, the Donalds cited family as the main reason for leaving Donda Sports.
“As parents and members of society, we felt a responsibility to send a clear message that hateful words and actions have consequences and that we must do better as people,” Donald and his wife wrote in their statement. “We do not feel that our beliefs, voices and actions belong anywhere near a space that misrepresents and oppresses people of any background, ethnicity or race.”
Contributing: Victoria Hernandez, Hannah Yasharoff
