Rams’ Aaron Donald, Celtics’ Jaylen Brown leave Kanye West’s Donda Sports agency

Two famous athletes are leaving Kanye West’s sports agency Donda Sports after repeated anti-Semitic statements by the artist and businessman.

Aaron Donald, star football player for the Los Angeles Rams, announced on Tuesday that he is leaving the agency.

In a statement shared on Twitter, Donald and his wife Erica said their family had decided to leave the company because of “recent comments and displays of hate and anti-Semitism,” which they described as “the exact opposite of how we choose to live and raise our children”.

The pair did not refer to the West – who legally changed his name to E – in their announcement.

“As parents and members of the community, we felt a responsibility to send a clear message that hateful words and actions have consequences and that we must be better as people,” the statement said. “We do not believe that our beliefs, voices and actions do not belong in a space that misrepresents and oppresses people of any background, ethnicity or race.”

Also on Tuesday is Celtics star basketball player Jaylen Brown tweeted that he is “terminating my cooperation with Donda Sports”.

He also did not refer to the West in the announcement.

Brown on Monday said the Boston Globe that he planned to stay with the agency.

“The reason I signed with Donda Sports is education, activism, disruption, single-parent families, and a lot more people participating in something like this,” Brown said at the time. “A lot of people I work with, I work with their families, I build love and respect, I spend time in the summer. Many people participate. That’s what the Donda Sports organization represented from my perspective.”

It’s Tuesday statementBrown said he “was able to reflect and better understand how my previous statements lacked clarity in stating my position against recent insensitive public remarks and actions.”

“I have always and will continue to strongly oppose any anti-Semitism, hate speech, distortion of facts and any repressive rhetoric,” he said.

Departures arrive on the same day Adidas has ended its partnership with West with “immediate action”.

Adidas has partnered with West since 2013, when the company struck a deal with rival Nike. Adidas expanded its relationship with the musician in 2016, calling it “the most significant partnership ever between a non-athlete and a sports brand.”

But Adidas put the partnership under “review” in early October after he publicly wore a “White Lives Matter” t-shirt. The Anti-Defamation League classifies the phrase as a “hate slogan” used by white supremacist groups, including the Ku Klux Klan.

Recently, during an anti-Jewish tirade on the Drink Champs podcast, West said, “I can say this is anti-Semitic shit and Adidas can’t drop me.” He also threatened to “Go to the death of the Jewish people” on Twitter.

— CNN Business’ Jordan Walinsky contributed to this report

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