Report: Donda Academy shutting down after Kanye West's string of antisemitic speech
Some of the nation's top hoopers will be rushing to find a new home after receiving news Wednesday that their high school will be closing down for the remainder of the year.
Donda Academy, the mysterious Southern California private school founded by Kanye West, is shutting down for the rest of the school year, according to a report from The Times of London, amid snowballing backlash to a recent string of antisemitic comments made by the rapper in recent weeks.
According to The Times, an email was sent to parents of students at the school by Donda Academy administration saying there is no school on Thursday and the school is shutting down for rest of the 2022-23 school year with plans to "begin afresh in September of 2023."
Donda Academy is not accredited and is not affiliated with the California Interscholastic Federation.
But the school did attract one of the most talented collection of high school basketball players in the country and was scheduled to play in the Spalding Hoophall Classic and City of Palms, some of the nation's top high school basketball tournaments.
While nothing has been made official about the team's status, a talented group of athletes could be looking for new schools to call home shortly before the 2022-23 high school basketball season kicks off.
The first domino fell Wednesday night, when Chuck Bailey, a three-star class of 2023 combo guard, said on Twitter Wednesday night that he is leaving the school.
Donda's roster included Robert Dillingham, the No. 2 overall recruit in the class of 2023 and a future Kentucky Wildcat, five-star combo guard AJ Johnson, four-star small forward JJ Taylor, who holds offers from Kentucky, Illinois and Duke, and four more of the top 250 seniors in the country, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.
Dillingham, North Carolina native, previously attended Combine Academy in North Carolina, and Johnson transferred from Taft High School (California).
Last week, Donda Academy debuted at No. 11 in the preseason SBLive/Sports Illustrated Power 25 national rankings.
Lead photo by Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel, Knoxville News Sentinel via Imagn Content Services, LLC
