20:10 ET
Tim Bontemps ESPN
Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown and Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald both announced Tuesday night that they will be leaving Donda Sports, the agency founded by the recording artist formerly known as Kanye West, over anti-Semitic comments he made. recently made.
The announcements came 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 remain with Donda Sports, despite disapproving of Ye’s comments.
“Over the past 24 hours, I’ve been able to reflect and better understand how my previous statements contain ambiguity in expressing my stance against recent insensitive public comments and actions,” Brown said in a statement released via Twitter on Tuesday. “For that I apologize. And in this I try to be as clear as possible. I am always, and always will be, strong against anti-Semitism, hate speech, misrepresentation and oppressive rhetoric of any kind.
“In light of that, after sharing conversations, I now recognize that there are times when my voice and my position can’t coexist in spaces that don’t match my point of view or my values. And for that reason I am ending my association with Donda Sports.”
Donald announced around the same time that his family was leaving Donda Sports, saying Ye’s comments are “the exact opposite of how we choose to live our lives and raise our children.”
“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 as humans need to do better,” Donald wrote in his statement via Twitter. “We don’t feel like our beliefs, voices and actions belong anywhere near a space that misrepresents and oppresses people of any background, ethnicity or race. We’ve had the pleasure of working with many incredible people along the way. and hope to continue using our platform to uplift and support other families, children and communities through positive outreach.”
Brown and Donald signed with Donda Sports in May.
Earlier Tuesday, Adidas announced it would formally cut ties with Ye, who had developed a hugely lucrative apparel and apparel partnership with the company.
“Adidas will not tolerate anti-Semitism and any other form of hate speech,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday. “Your recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.”
As part of its statement, Adidas said it would lose about $250 million in net income this year as a result of breaking its partnership with Ye, but it was necessary in the wake of anti-Semitic comments he has made in recent weeks. .
Ye has made controversial comments in the past on various issues, including slavery and COVID-19 vaccines. Earlier this month, Ye posted on Twitter that he would soon be going “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” a clear reference to the US defense preparedness scale known as DEFCON. He was suspended from both Twitter and Instagram.
His recent spate of anti-Semitic comments has led several companies to cut ties with the rapper or his various business units. Creative Artists Agency, Balenciaga, Gap and Foot Locker, among others, have ended their collaboration with him.