LOS ANGELES — No one, it seems, is willing to play Donda Academy and its roster of top college basketball prospects. The reason is well-chronicled: Donda founder and billionaire entertainer Kanye West has alienated much of society with his repeated antisemitic hate speech.
What about the players? They had a dream of playing at Donda Academy: a star-studded roster, a top-tier schedule that included several prestigious national tournaments, an unparalleled arrangement with sports apparel giant Adidas; and an online academic curriculum that could be completed in a couple of hours a day.
As a bonus, their home facility would be the well-appointed Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, formerly the Mamba Academy owned by Kobe Bryant before he and eight others died in a January 2020 helicopter crash.
Today, Adidas has severed ties with Donda and the schedule is gutted, with four national tournaments dropping the Doves.
Here are answers to pertinent questions surrounding the Donda team and academy.
What is the Donda Academy?
Donda Academy is a year-old, unaccredited private K-12 school launched before the 2021-2022 school year. The basketball team does not take classes with other students and is not sanctioned by the California Interscholastic Federation, but the roster is stacked with college prospects.
Administrators sent emails to parents last week saying the school was closing but reversed course soon thereafter. Students, teachers and security personnel were observed Friday during a visit to the new campus in a Chatsworth industrial park.
What’s the status of the Donda basketball team?
The basketball team operates separately, using the Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks for classrooms, a weight room and basketball courts. The players spend about six hours a day at the facility.
The Donda season is in jeopardy because at least four national tournaments dropped the Doves last week in response to West’s hate speech and amid rumors the school was closing. Two players have transferred.
Whether the Donda team remains intact for the 2022-23 season could be resolved by the end of the week.
When and why did NBA stars reach out to the Donda players?
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown, one of the NBA’s brightest young stars, believes the Donda Academy players are victims of West’s unacceptable behavior and hateful comments. Brown had Kyrie Irving and Blake Griffin join him on a Zoom call with the Donda players Sunday to discuss the obstacles facing the team.
Brown severed a business relationship with West’s Donda Sports marketing agency but hasn’t abandoned the players. He led scheduling a game at Morehouse College in Atlanta, but Morehouse decided Monday not to host Donda. Brown is trying to find another venue for the game, billed as a Donda “homecoming.”
“[The NBA players] were just telling us that they were going to have our back and they were going to help us through the process,” Donda senior guard AJ Johnson said.
What are Donda players’ options?
The Los Angeles Times spoke with Johnson, who is regarded as the best Donda player who hasn’t committed to a college. (The top player is point guard Robert Dillingham, who is headed to Kentucky). Johnson could easily find a landing spot if he decides to transfer.
He said some of his teammates might not have the same options.
“I’ve heard from a lot of players on the team. They’re all pretty much — a couple of them are just staying, they came from nothing, they don’t got nowhere else to go,” Johnson said. “No other prep school teams to go to, no one else is recruiting them, so they want to stay. So a lot of people want to stay without — even if Rob or me leave, people want to stay.”
Are other schools willing to take former Donda players?
The father of one Donda player who has explored transferring said the response has been less than enthusiastic.
“Because of the situation, some schools are kind of shying away,” said the father, who requested anonymity to protect his son. “It’s like, ‘We’ll get back to you,’ or ‘We gotta talk to our admissions department.’ That’s what we get back.”
The father said eligibility could be an issue for transfers, especially because Donda Academy is not an accredited high school.
“Eligibility, because it’s so late — we’re three months into school right now,” he said. “We want to make sure he goes to the right school.”
When will the team decide whether to stick it out or fold?
School administrators aren’t returning calls, but Johnson said this week will be pivotal because the season is supposed to begin in a matter of days.
Two players — JJ Taylor and Chuck Bailey — left Donda in recent days.
“All of us are still thinking about what we want to do. We don’t know if it’s a good choice to just stay, or is it just good to find somewhere else where we can go,” Johnson said. “But for right now, all of us, we’re just focusing on — just still here, trying to get better, blocking out all that noise right now until we figure out what we want to do.”
Why is Dillingham’s decision pivotal to the team’s existence?
Dillingham is the No. 1-ranked point guard in the 2023 class. A hugely entertaining offensive machine, Dillingham gave Donda instant credibility when he enrolled before last season.
His presence was a drawing card for established national tournaments wanting to bring in as many future NBA players as possible. Dillingham’s potential for name, image and likeness deals is high, but he needs continued visibility on the court.
Dillingham has not commented publicly, but Johnson, his teammate and fellow nationally ranked player, said Dillingham is still undecided on whether to transfer or remain at Donda. A lot hinges on the team’s schedule, or lack of one.
No doubt Dillingham is consulting with coaches at Kentucky to ensure that he meets enrollment requirements regardless of what he does next.
How do players feel about four national tournaments barring Donda?
“It was just weird how they would drop us from tournaments based off … what Kanye was saying,” Johnson said. “But it makes sense — they don’t want their brand to be tied to his name, I guess, or anything to do — because of the comments he made. So I would understand it, but I feel like it just doesn’t have anything to do with us.”
“We obviously feel it’s not fair. Not being able to play in a tournament because of what he was saying.”
Are players worried about fallout from playing for a team founded by Kanye?
Johnson said he and teammates have talked about the long-term impact of playing for Donda Academy. They aren’t optimistic.
“We’re all keeping that in mind, just seeing maybe — playing for him, at the end of the day, with the Donda Dove on our chest, we’re basically playing for Kanye,” Johnson said. “It’s his school. So having our names tied to him could lead to some things — maybe some agents, NIL’s wouldn’t want to do deals with us, maybe, or people wouldn’t want to sign us, or anything like that. So now, we’re just trying figure out.”
Is Kanye still involved with the Donda basketball team?
West made an appearance at the Sports Academy on Friday night, but it was to watch his daughter play in a basketball tournament, not to address the Donda team.
The father of one of the players who spoke under the condition of anonymity paraphrased West’s recruiting pitch to his son: “ ’He come here, he’s going to be one of the top athletes in the country, we’re going to continue to push, he’s an emerging star right now, we’re going to continue to build that brand, and he’s going to be able to increase his earning potential on that platform, and on our platform.’
“And pretty much, none of that happened.
“I requested to have a conversation with Mr. West through some of his staff … and they kinda blew me off a little bit. I just want to know, what’s up? I just want to know, what do you have in place for these children’s future?
His son and his Donda teammates believed they were part of a special opportunity. Instead, the entire program is on the verge of collapse. The father is just concerned for his son.
“He’s kinda gotta pick up the pieces,” the father said.
