Celtics star Jaylen Brown announced a split Tuesday with Donda Sports, the artist Ye’s (formerly Kanye West) agency.
The announcement came one day after Brown told The Boston Globe that he planned to stay with Donda Sports in spite of recent anti-Semitic comments by West. Brown became the first NBA player to sign with Donda earlier this year, inking a marketing deal with the rap superstar.
On Tuesday, however, Brown released a statement to Twitter clarifying his comments and announcing a split with the company.
— Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO) October 25, 2022
“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 on Twitter. “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.
“In light of that, after sharing in conversations, I now recognize that there are times when my voice and my position can’t coexist in spaces that don’t correspond with my stance or my values. And, for that reason, I am terminating my association with Donda Sports.”
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Brown’s decision to stick with Donda Sports caused a stir Monday.
“The reason why I signed with Donda Sports, it represented education, it represented activism, disruption, it represented single-parent households, and a lot more people are involved in something like that,” Brown said. “A lot of people that I work with, work with their families, build love and respect for, spending time in the summer. A lot of people involved. That’s what the organization from my vantage point from Donda Sports represented.”
In his recent statement, Brown added that he hopes to continue to provide “mentorship, love, and support” to children, faculty, and athletes at Ye’s Donda Academy.
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Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald — who joined Donda Sports in May — terminated his relationship with the agency on Tuesday as well.
“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,” Donald and his wife, Erica, wrote in a statement. “We find them to be irresponsible and go against everything we believe in as a family.”
Brown has been represented in contract negotiations and NBA business by Jason Glushon of Glushon Sports Management since 2019, when he signed his rookie extension. He went without an agent for the first three years of his career prior to hiring Glushon.
Adidas ended its business relationship with Ye earlier Tuesday as well.