Jaylen Brown To Remain With Kanye West’s Donda Sports Despite Controversy
Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown will remain a client of Kanye West’s Donda Sports, despite fallout following the rapper’s string of anti-semitic comments and other controversial remarks. West was recently dropped by talent agency CAA as a client, and several other partners of the rapper, most notably Adidas, have done the same or are facing pressure to follow suit.
Brown, who became the first athlete to sign on with the sports agency earlier this year, has voiced his intent to continue to work and be represented by the brand. On Monday, the All-Star forward spoke with the Boston Globe, explaining that Donda Sports’ goals as a brand align with his own passions and beliefs.
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“The reason why I signed with Donda Sports, it represented education, it represented activism, disruption,” the former No. 3 overall NBA Draft pick said. “It represented single-parent households, and a lot more people are involved in something like that.”
He continued, adding, “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.”
However, Brown distanced himself from West’s comments regarding the Jewish community, reiterating his tolerance for all groups of people, but remained adamant about his responsibility to his own.
“Like I said, I don’t condone any hurt, harm, or danger toward a group of people,” the 26-year-old expressed. “I will continue to be a member of my community, uplift my community through my work and what I’ve done throughout my career, and I’m going to continue to do that work.”
Speaking of Kanye himself, Brown believes the Billionaire is in need of help and to be showered with “unconditional love” at this moment in time.
“He’s someone who’s obviously dealing with a lot of adversity that’s in front of him right now and everybody can see it and it’s public,” Brown reasoned. “But a lot of people in the world are dealing with adversity and things that are going on that’s in front of them and they need help. It’s a lot going on right now.
“I don’t agree with everything that everybody does. Like I said, I don’t stand for any hurt, harm, or danger toward anybody, but sometimes people need unconditional love and help to get them through the situation.”
Donda Sports’ launch was first announced back in January, with West teaming up with former NFL star Antonio Brown, who voiced his excitement for the brand’s future.
“We’re just excited about the Donda Sports Brand, and making this thing a competitive sports brand to the athletes,” Brown told Complex at time. “I don’t think there’s a lot of fashion lines for athletes, wearing fashionable and comfortable clothes, so with a guy like Kanye West, being able to partner with him and work with him to provide more creative, genius ideas for fashion looks for athletes in general… I’m just grateful for the opportunity here soon, to share what we’ve got with the world. And you guys are hearing it first, we got some exciting things to look forward to this year.”
In addition to Brown, Donda Sports also represents the marketing and business interests outside of athletics for NFL star Aaron Donald, the second current professional athlete to sign with the brand. Donald has yet to address West’s anti-semitic comments.
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