Big-name athletes quit Kanye West agency amid anti-Semitic row – Reuters

NFL star Aaron Donald and NBA basketball player Jaylen Brown have terminated their contracts with rapper Kanye West’s Donda Sports marketing agency after his anti-Semitic remarks.

Now known as Ye, the popular producer and musician posted anti-Semitic comments on Twitter which led to him being dropped by Adidas.

His agency Donda Sports, named after his late mother, was launched in May, with Donald, a defensive lineman for the Los Angeles Rams and Brown, a guard for the Boston Celtics, the first two athletes signed by West.

As confirmed in a statement released with his wife Erica, however, Super Bowl winner Donald and his family have « made the decision to separate from Donda Sports » because of the controversy that agitates West.

« The recent comments and displays of hate and anti-Semitism are the exact opposite of how we choose to live our lives and raise our children, » explained the Donalds.

Although Brown initially said he would stay with Donda Sports, he reversed his decision on Tuesday.

“I have always, and will always continue to stand firmly against anti-Semitism, hate speech, misrepresentation and oppressive rhetoric of any kind,” said Brown.

When severing ties with West on the same day, German clothing giant Adidas said he was doing so. « not to tolerate anti-Semitism and any other type of hate speech. »

Adidas previously revealed that its Yeezy collaboration with Kanye is one of the most successful in its history. Due to the severed ties with West, Adidas is expected to see a $250 million negative impact on earnings in 2022.

Forbes estimates that losing his contract with Adidas means West’s net worth will rise from $1.5 billion to $400 million, meaning he will no longer occupy the financial magazine’s billionaire list.

According to Ian Rapoport, an NFL insider, Donald reworked his contract with the Rams in July while still a client of Donda Sports, so he will receive $95 million over the next three seasons through 2024.

The move made him the highest paid non-quarterback in NFL history.

Brown, who led the Celtics to the NBA Finals earlier this year, has two years left on the four-year, $106.3 million contract extension he signed with the Celtics in 2019. He is expected to win a four-year extension worth about $165 million. when his current contract expires.