Kanye West’s Donda Academy Basketball Team Removed From Tournament

Scholastic Play-By-Play Classics announced on Wednesday (Oct. 26) that it is dropping Kanye West‘s Donda Academy team from its season schedule following the rapper’s string of anti-Semitic and racist comments.

“While we are firm in our reasoning for this decision, it does not diminish our heartache and regret for Donda’s hardworking athletes who will lose out the most as a result of Kanye’s actions,” the organization shared in a statement, according to TMZ, who first reported the news. “Unfortunately, we cannot in good conscience host an organization founded and directed by Mr. West at our events.”

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The Donda Academy team was set to appear at the Dec. 11 event in Louisville.

Ye made headlines earlier this month at his Yeezy Paris Fashion Week for wearing a shirt emblazoned with the phrase “White Lives Matter” on its back, and featuring Black models in the shirt. The phrase is one that was adopted by neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups in response to the Black Lives Matter movement.

He followed up on Twitter, using antisemitic rhetoric in his posts, then double down on his hate speech in interviews. Since then, his social media accounts have been suspended. Several companies — including The Gap, Balenciaga, Adidas and more — have already terminated their relationships and brand deals with the rapper.

Donda Sports also took a hit when the NBA’s Boston Celtics shooting guard Jaylen Brown and the NFL’s L.A. Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald cut ties with the organization, taking to Twitter to condemn Ye’s hurtful language.

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