Aaron Donald, Jaylen Brown cut ties with Ye's Donda Sports over antisemitic remarks
Aaron Donald and Jaylen Brown are the latest people to sever ties with Ye, the controversial rapper formerly known as Kanye West.
The Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle announced Tuesday on Twitter that he's parting ways with Ye's marketing agency, Donda Sports, following the rapper's "irresponsible" antisemitic remarks.
"Our family has made the decision to part ways with Donda Sports," reads a statement from Donald and his wife, Erica Donald. "The recent comments and displays of hate and antisemitism are the exact opposite of how we choose to live our lives and raise our children. We find them to be irresponsible and go against everything we believe in as a family."
MORE: Ram's Aaron Donald signs with Kanye's sports agency
KANYE WEST: Ye loses billionaire status, Adidas ends partnership over 'dangerous' antisemitic remarks
— AD_99 (@AaronDonald97) October 25, 2022
After initially saying he would stay with Donda Sports on Monday, Brown, the Boston Celtics star, backtracked and announced Tuesday on Twitter that he's also "terminating (his) association with Donda Sports."
"In the past 24 hours, I’ve been able to reflect and better understand how my previous statements lack 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 antisemitism, hate speech, misrepresentation, and oppressive rhetoric of any kind."
— Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO) October 25, 2022
Donald and Brown signed to Donda Sports, which focuses on marketing and off-the-field ventures, in May. Wide receiver Antonio Brown announced in February that he had been 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 backed Ye amid the backlash and said that he's still affiliated with Donda Sports.
"As the President of Donda Sports, I remain," Antonio Brown wrote in a statement shared on Twitter. "I remain dedicated to helping clarify statements taken 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 has faced major fallout after sharing antisemitic sentiments across social media and in various interviews. The rapper was suspended from Twitter and Instagram earlier this month for violating their policies. Adidas ended its partnership and lucrative sneaker deal with Ye on Tuesday, knocking Ye off 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 scraped a recently-taped interview with Ye because the rapper engaged in "more hate speech and extremely dangerous stereotypes," Carter told Andscape.
Donald previously said he signed with Donda Sports because of its "family atmosphere."
"It made sense in hearing the whole spectrum of everything that was going on, what they were going to be bringing, the family atmosphere that they 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 up a lot of different doors and a lot of different things outside of football that I want to be involved."
On Tuesday, however, the Donalds attributed 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 human beings," Donald and his wife wrote in their statement. "We don’t feel 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
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Aaron Donald, Jaylen Brown cut ties with Kanye West's Donda Sports