A much-hyped Atlanta basketball tournament featuring Donda Academy, a private school founded by the artist formerly known as Kanye West, has been canceled.
Morehouse College, which was to host the event at the 6,000-seat Forbes Arena, announced in a Monday afternoon statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the event would not take place.
Ye has lost partnerships with numerous entities after making antisemitic and offensive comments in recent weeks. He had promoted the basketball event on Sunday on his Instagram account. It was to be the season opener game between the Doves of Donda Academy and the team The Skill Factory.
In a written statement, Morehouse spokesperson Cedric Mobley said: “Throughout its history, Morehouse College, perhaps more than any other institution, has stood for social discourse which advances equity and healing, particularly in areas involving race, culture, and socio-economic disparities. We therefore cannot condone, in perception or implication, the recent divisive and unproductive statements by Ye, formerly known as Kanye West.”
News of the basketball event had been rebounding around the internet over the weekend. In promoting the game, Ye’s Instagram post said: “Some establishments still stood up that’s love #lovespeech.” He also posted a link to purchase tickets, which ranged from $20 to $500, according to the site.
The online description of the event said it would be a chance to support the team at “a star studded night of hoops alongside Jaylen Brown and many other A-list celebs.”
On Twitter, Brown called the cancelation “an unfortunate retraction” and added that “the kids and family appreciate the consideration.” He wrote: “Currently looking for another solution.”
Brown plays for the Boston Celtics and went to Wheeler High School in Cobb County. Though he recently left Ye’s agency, Donda Sports, Brown has expressed support for the young Donda Academy athletes.
Before the tournament was pulled, he gave a Twitter shout out to Morehouse “for opening their doors” to the team, saying it’s important to provide and not take away resources to the student-athletes.
Brown has expressed concern over reports that the California-based academy’s basketball team had been barred from several tournaments because of Ye’s comments. He has pledged on social media to sponsor any event willing to host the team, saying: “We do not cancel our kids.”
On Oct. 25, Brown announced he was ending his association with Donda Sports, but said he’d continue to provide “mentorship, love and support” to the academy’s students, athletes and faculty. In that statement, Brown said he “will always, continue to stand strongly against antisemitism, hate speech, misrepresentation, and oppressive rhetoric of any kind.”
Mobley, the Morehouse spokesperson, said in the statement that the college welcomes students and families to visit the campus and encourages them “to learn more about how Morehouse singularly prepares men of color for lives of leadership and service by empowering young men who are trustworthy and hold themselves and each other accountable to act with compassion, honesty, and integrity as they build community with civility.”
Last year, Ye spent time in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium as he prepared for his album “Donda,” named for his educator mother, who died in 2007.
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