Rapper Kanye West, who legally changed his name to Ye, has been in the spotlight again after repeatedly making antisemitic remarks, but Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown said Monday he will not part with West’s marketing agency.
via: Complex
The Celtics shooting guard told The Boston Globe that Ye’s Donda Sports agency is geared towards helping his community, which is why he’s sticking around.
“Like I said, I don’t condone any hurt, harm, or danger toward a group of people,” Brown told the outlet. “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.”
He continued, “A lot of time goes into creating an entity or organization. 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. 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.”
Brown signed on with Kanye’s Donda Sports in May alongside Los Angeles Rams player Aaron Donald, and admitted his relationship with the Yeezy mogul is complicated at the moment.
“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 said. “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.”
Adidas and Balenciaga are just some of the companies that have cut all ties with Ye in light of his string of hate speech.
“It’s tough to speak on because everybody is going to form their own opinions about what you have to say, but I look at people that I’ve been around, family, friends that you love,” Brown added. “To me, it’s unconditional. To me, as they’re working through problems, we’re working through it in unison. 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.”
