If there’s any truth to the adage, “you are the company you keep,” it’s fair to start questioning Celtics star Jaylen Brown’s partnership with Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) and Donda Sports.
Just four months after Brown signed onto the sports marketing agency founded by the rap mogul, Ye is making headlines for hateful messaging directly contradicting the years of off-court ideals Brown has championed.
Last week Ye’s social media accounts were blocked and locked by moderators after hateful, antisemitic posts on Instagram and Twitter. A tweet from his official Twitter handle threatened “death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.”
Ye had been scheduled to tape an episode of “The Shop,” HBO’s unscripted discussion series backed in part by LeBron James’ production company, Springhill Company. The episode was taped but scrapped, according to a statement issued exclusively to Andscape.com by producer and SpringHill CEO Maverick Carter:
“After talking to Kanye directly the day before we taped, I believed he was capable of a respectful discussion and he was ready to address all his recent comments. Unfortunately, he used The Shop to reiterate more hate speech and extremely dangerous stereotypes.”
These recent actions dwarf Ye’s eyebrow raising fashion choices weeks back, when he wore a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt.
And all of it runs contrary to the message Jaylen Brown has admirably promulgated.
The UC Berkeley product distinguished himself in the wake of the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, driving 15 hours from Boston to Atlanta to lead peaceful protests in his hometown. When all eyes were on the NBA during its Disney bubble restart, he took the opportunity and the microphone to ask thoughtful questions about prevailing racism in America.
So here’s a question worth some thought: why does he continue to associate himself with these guys?
When asked about joining Donda in June, Brown told Bally Sports’ Brandon “B Scoop” Robinson he saw Ye as “a pioneer, a legend, someone who broke barriers.”
Sure. Once upon a time, Kanye West was a dazzling musical artist who sang about the struggles of living on minimum wage and the skyrocketing cost of higher education. He was unpredictable and bombastic, but in a way that got people talking about FEMA and the response to Katrina.
Ye, on the other hand, has an official Instagram page that suggested rapper Sean “P Diddy Combs” is controlled by Jewish people, a centuries old antisemitic trope. Ye sells Donda socks for $60. Ye names Antonio Brown president of Donda Sports – the same Antonio Brown charged with felony assault and battery, burglary, sued and investigated for sexual assault, among a litany of disgusting behavior.
Brown has grown into an admirable leader in the Celtics locker room and off the court in the NBA. Frankly, he’s worthy of better representation than Donda Sports. Kanye West left the building a long time ago. Ye is little more than a troll – and he’s lost the power to even post.