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Jaylen Brown Turns Down $50 Million Backing to Launch His Own Performance Brand, 741 – Essence

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BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – SEPTEMBER 24: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics addresses the media during Boston Celtics Media Day on the Auerbach Center on September 24, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that by downloading and/or using this image, User consents to the terms of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo: Maddie Malhotra/Getty Images)

Jaylen Brown, NBA MVP and Boston Celtics champion, is making waves each on and off the court.

A daring and strategic move, Brown he turned down over $50 million in endorsements launch your personal performance brand, . But this is not only one other sneaker line – Brown is constructing something revolutionary from the bottom up, fueled by his passion for ownership, creativity and creating lasting change.

Since his contract with Adidas expired in 2021, Brown has been something of a sneaker-free agent while quietly developing. The name itself has personal meaning for the basketball star and reflects his reference to spirituality. The numbers 7, 4 and 1 symbolize spiritual awakening, labor and latest beginnings – befitting a player who consistently defies expectations each on and off the pitch.

Brown’s decision to reject traditional endorsements reflects a growing movement in Black culture: constructing one’s own legacy. Rather than sign one other lucrative contract, he selected to fully own and control his brand, following within the footsteps of other athlete-entrepreneurs who’ve chosen to take control of their very own creative visions. “741 is more than just a sneaker brand – it is a statement of independence, creativity and ownership,” Brown explains in a release shared with ESSENCE.

Inspired by the late Kobe Bryant, who had similar plans to start his own independent sneaker brand, Brown follows the concept that athletes can resolve their future, each inside and outdoors of their careers. “Kobe’s journey has taught me to be fearless and to take the sport and society to new heights,” says Brown. It is this fashion of considering that drives the corporate’s ethos.

But what really sets it apart? This is greater than just performance-based technology, although that’s actually a serious area of ​​focus. Brown designed this line with an emphasis on high-performance equipment that makes no compromise on quality or style. In fact, these products promise to bring innovation to the sneaker world, all while maintaining reasonably priced costs – especially for youngsters and disadvantaged communities. Brown has ensured that prices for teenagers’ plus sizes are 40% lower than competitors, so families can afford high-end footwear without the hefty price tag.

In addition to products, it also offers a brand new economic model for athletes. By launching his own product line, Brown is making a plan that may enable athletes to have greater ownership of their brands, offering them greater creative control and higher financial terms than traditional sponsorship deals. It’s not only a game changer for sneakers – it’s revolutionizing the way in which athletes interact with them.

Looking ahead, Brown plans to sign athletes directly with the corporate, giving them the chance to collaborate on projects and keep a bigger share of the profits. This is an extended-overdue change in the way in which athletes engage with major footwear corporations, and Brown’s goal is to empower a brand new generation of athletes to take control of their careers and the brands they represent. After all, it isn’t just in regards to the shoes – it’s about breaking down barriers, difficult the establishment and creating pathways for many who will come next.

With this premiere, Jaylen Brown makes an announcement on the longer term of sports, business and property that may resonate beyond the court.

This article was originally published on : www.essence.com
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John Legend’s wife, Chrissy Teigen, is causing a stir around plastic surgery with a bold transformation

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Celebrity couple Chrissy Teigen and John Legend

Model-turned-entrepreneur Chrissy Teigen has her sights set on something aside from just looking stunning on red carpets with her husband: animal food.

Teigen took the stage at Adweek’s Brandweek event in Phoenix, Arizona to advertise her latest enterprise, Kismet, a line of pet products and foods she created fired with husband John Legend in May.

After she showcased her business skills on panels and discussed marketing strategies, she posted highlights from the event on Instagram to her 42.2 million social media followers.

John Legend’s wife, Chrissy Teigen, is accused of her recent plastic surgery. (Photo: @chrissyteigen/Instagram)

In her post, the mother of two could be seen wearing a gray dress with a uniquely designed V-neck. Teigen shared her enthusiasm for the event with the caption: “@adweek Brand Week is truly one in all my favorite events of the yr! it was a lot fun talking about the whole lot @kismet! Phoenix, you might be ungodly sexy, but additionally very cool.

She jokingly as well as“We also had a great, amazing meal at North Italia, so overall a 10/10 experience!”

Teigen also couldn’t resist quickly sharing her dog’s food and told her followers, “Get some shrimp and dip the bread in it, and the truffle garlic bread that you can use as a ladle too, baby.”

Fans figuratively ate it up, and her comments section was stuffed with praise for her brand.

One person raved: “Our dog loves @kismet! The dog food is of high quality and the treats are motivating! I love the scheduled delivery options.”

Clearly, Teigen’s brand and vibrant personality resonated with her audience, with one one who attended her panel saying, “You stole the show moo deng style.”

Although her skilled skills were on full display, some couldn’t help but give attention to her appearance relatively than her business achievements.

Several critics even speculated that she had recently undergone botched plastic surgery.

“In what universe is all this plastic surgery considered attractive?” one person interrogated.

Another harshly added: “Dear God…your doctor must have his license revoked for putting s… like that in your cheeks. … It looks absurd. I do not know if anyone told you this or not, but it surely’s a fact.

Despite the negative reviews, not all reviews were critical.

A 3rd said: “Do you have Lipo on your stomach? You look amazing!! Flat stomach!! Amazing figure!!”

A fourth added: “Umm you look lovely from every angle. Tell John I’m sorry.

This is not the primary time she has faced criticism about her appearance.

In June 2024, People magazine reported when she took to Instagram to share rumors about her cosmetic procedures.

When someone claiming to be a doctor accused her of using fillers, she denied the claims in a series of videos.

“Would you trust a doctor who couldn’t tell the difference between filler and weight gain? I personally would not do this,” she said in one clip, before adding, “Plus, my doctor would never, ever spend time on Instagram and analyze people’s faces… he’s too busy with work.”

In the second video, Legend’s wife identified the damage that one of these criticism causes.

“This sort of criticism only makes the person you might be talking about not need to smile and show their natural joy because they think people will make fun of them due to their bone structure, possibly their teeth, their lips, how they appear after they smile,” she said. “Like, what does it really do other than steal someone else’s joy? Literally.”

The 38-year-old has been open about her past cosmetic enhancements, going to X in 2020 to disclose she had had breast augmentation, but it surely wasn’t her first surgery.

In September 2021, Teigen candidly revealed that she had a s surgery to remove fat from the cheeka treatment geared toward improving the definition of the jawline, reducing facial fullness and shading the cheeks. According to Harper’s Baazar, this trend is becoming increasingly popular in Hollywood.

Just a few months later, she shared details about her next cosmetic procedure — an eyebrow transplant. The surgery involved taking hair from the back of the top and using it to create fuller, more sculpted eyebrows.

On the January 30 episode of “Watch What Happens Live” with Andy Cohen, Teigen revealed more about her cosmetics history in the course of the show. She unintentionally confirmed that she had undergone three separate breast augmentation procedures by playing a game wherein she needed to lie about herself.

“I had them drop them off, put them in and take them out. I don’t love them,” she said he said explaining that she didn’t really know that she shouldn’t tell the reality in the sport.

But this was nothing latest. She previously spoke about getting breast implants in her 20s for a magazine spread, and in a 2020 interview with Glamor UK she said it was “more about the swimsuit.”

She as well as“I thought if I was going to pose lying on my back, I wanted them to be perky! But then you give birth to babies and they fill up with milk and deflate, and now I’m screwed.”

Despite the noise, Teigen seems unfazed as she balances her role as mother of 4, cookbook creator, business owner and superstar wife.

Whether it’s about her parenting or how she looks and dresses, she knows that individuals will at all times have something to say.


This article was originally published on : atlantablackstar.com
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Remembering Michael Clark Duncan: Early Life, Career and Legacy

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LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 26: Actor Michael Clarke Duncan arrives at the premiere of "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" at Mann

Michael Clarke Duncan is best known for his role as John Coffey in The Green Mile. 180 cm high. Duncan’s life and legacy were much greater than his role within the 1999 supernatural thriller. Although his life and profession were ultimately cut short as a result of his death in 2012, Duncan managed to look in over 40 movies. His extraordinary contributions to television and film, in addition to his kindness and gentle demeanor, are remembered by his friends, castmates and fans alike.

The youth of Michael Clark Duncan

Michael Clarke Duncan was born on December 10, 1957 in Chicago. His father left when he was 6, so he was raised on the South Side by his mother, a cleansing lady, and an older sister. As a toddler, Duncan desired to play football, but his mother didn’t allow him for fear of wounding himself. Duncan made up his mind give attention to learning and staying out of trouble, although he tried unsuccessfully Chicago Bears as a young man. He all the time thought of becoming an actor, but this dream and his education at Alcorn State University were placed on hold when his mother became unwell and he needed to work to support his family.

Duncan supported himself and his family by working as: trencher and eventually as a bouncer in nightclubs. He also worked as a private bodyguard for stars equivalent to Will Smith, Martin Lawrence and Notorious B.I.G. When Notorious B.I.G. was killed in 1997, Duncan gave up being a bodyguard and focused on his longtime ambition to be an actor.

LOS ANGELES – MARCH 28: Actor Michael Clarke Duncan arrives for the premiere of “Sin City” on the Mann National Theater on March 28, 2005 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

His profession included The Green Mile and beyond

Initially, Duncan secured numerous smaller roles in movies, including “Bulworth” and “A Night at the Roxbury”, normally playing a bouncer. His star rose significantly when he was solid because the Bear within the motion film “Armageddon.” Duncan made a reputation for himself and made a brand new friend in his castmate Bruce Willis. Duncan made an enormous impression on Willis that he really helpful him for the role of John Coffey within the film adaptation of Stephen King’s novel “The Green Mile.”

Duncan shined as a mild-mannered inmate accused of murdering two young white girls within the Depression-era South. He earned it together with his performance Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for best supporting actor.

Duncan followed up his “The Green Mile” success with roles in “Planet of the Apes,” “The Scorpion King” and “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.” He has also lent his voice to movies equivalent to ‘Green Lantern’. His last film before his death, “The Challenger”, was released posthumously in 2015.

LOS ANGELES – JANUARY 28: Director Malcolm D. Lee (left) and actor Michael Clarke Duncan pose on the afterparty of the premiere of Universal Pictures’ “Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins” at Annex on January 28, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

The Legacy of Michael Clark Duncan

Duncan died on September 3, 2012, on the age of 54, in consequence of complications from a heart attack he suffered several months earlier. After news of his death was announced, tributes began to pour in. His “The Green Mile” co-star Tom Hanks said: “He was a treasure that we all discovered on the set of “The Green Mile.” He was magical. He was a fantastic human being and his passing leaves us stunned.”

Duncan supported several charities and philanthropic initiatives throughout his life. One of them was the Sue Duncan Children’s Center (no relation). The actor is grateful to the middle for keeping him on the right track as a young man growing up in Chicago.

Michael Clarke Duncan TheGrio
Actor Michael Clarke Duncan (left) and television personality Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth attend In Touch Weekly’s annual “Icons & Idols” celebration on the Marmont Bar on September 12, 2010 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo: David Livingston/Getty Images)

Although Duncan never mentioned having children, just a few days after his death, a girl named Marquea Ambrose got here out claiming to be his secret daughter, which was never confirmed. Duncan denied paternity, and his estate – reportedly value several million – was managed primarily by his former fiancée, Omarosa Manigault Stallworth, despite some conflict with Duncan’s family over control of the estate.

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This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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Caitlin Clark fans send shocking wave of racist attacks to Dijonai Carrington over eye foul

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Caitlin Clark

Connecticut Sun player DiJonai Carrington has quickly grow to be one of the WNBA’s rising stars.

However, Carrington recently shared with the general public a disturbing insight into the backlash she has received over the past few weeks from Caitlin Clark’s fans.

Known for her skills on the court, Carrington won the “Most Improved Player” honor in her fourth season, and recently took to social media to reveal some of the hateful messages she received from Clark’s fans.

    Racist Caitlin Clark fans
Some of Caitlin Clark’s fans have issued threats to Dijonai Carrington that they may injure her and attack her with racial slurs. (Photos: Justin Casterline/Getty Images; Mike Lawrie/Getty Images)

On Thursday, September 26, she posted on her Instagram story a threatening email she had received, containing racial slurs and a brutal threat of sexual assault.

The email read: “You worthless nigga, I hope someone scolds you and chops your head off.”

In response, Carrington wrote: “I am unable to make this up. Sent to my email. You will need Jesus.

The post, which has since expired, has sparked widespread concern. One fan caught on and commented, “We need to do a better job of protecting WNBA players.”

The hostility is reportedly linked to supporters of Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark. Many people, mostly her white fanbase, became outraged at the best way Clark was treated on the court – normally directing their outrage at her black opponents.

On Wednesday, September 25, when Clark didn’t like how a fan was harassing her on the court in Game 2 of the primary round of the Indiana-Connecticut playoffs, she grabbed him. ejected. Connecticut won that game at home 87-81 and took the best-of-seven series 2-0.

Clark’s fans have also been vocal in expressing their hatred towards Sun’s Black players by harassing them, but none of their players have managed to eject a fan.

The abuse seemed to escalate more, especially after the Sun eliminated the Fever, denying the Rookie of the Year a probability to make a deeper playoff run in her first season within the league.

During the extraordinary matches, the rivalry reached such a boiling point that some Clark fans repeatedly directed their frustration at Carrington.

“The same people who want to pretend that #CaitlinClark was ‘attacked’ by DiJonai Carrington have nothing to say about Caitlin Clark who came close to ripping out DiJonai’s eye” – one user X he tweeted September 23. “Playing for the ball and pulling the contact back towards someone’s eye and breaking the contact.”

The social media user referenced the primary game of the Fever-Sun series when Carrington poked Clark within the eye in an attempt to block a pass, leaving the rookie’s eye blackened. No foul was called throughout the play and Sun insists it was an accident, although fans imagine she deliberately tried to use her fingernail extensions to injure Clark. Later in the sport, Clark punched Carrington within the face, breaking the Sun player’s contact lens. Carrington was assessed a foul on the play.

Clark also noted that the scratch was “not intentional” and told her fans to watch the show.

The vitriol kept coming.

Another person wrote on Twitter: “I am warning DiJonai fans, the Connecticut Sun and the #WNBA as a whole about this disgusting, pathetic excuse for a human being who is actually praying for Dijonai to get hurt. Block such toxic people to clean your tl. This is EXACTLY what Carrington was talking about,” posting comments like “Dijonai gets hurt, idc. I hate that bitch my whole fucking life.”

The same Clark fan added, “I hope Dijonais’ eye contact is contagious to her,” and “I pray for absolutely the worst for Dijonais. I hate this bitch a lot.

On September 25, a fan who attended the Fever v. Sun game noticed Carrington being taunted with “racist” taunts about her nails and eyelashes.

“I’m at the Sun/Fever match and the atmosphere is terrible,” they are saying he wrote. “A woman behind me mocked DiJonai’s eyelashes and only stopped when my partner turned around and told her to stop being racist. There is a man wearing a MAGA hat. There’s also THAT woman with the no-nails T-shirt and cartoonish fake nails.”

Another fan placed the blame squarely on the WNBA, writing“Two important things that happened earlier today, long before Indiana lost, and now you want to say something. You allowed Dijonai Carrington to be interrogated and threatened with death. Not to mention all the shit that’s happened since the beginning of the season. DO BETTER WNBA.”

While it’s unclear why it released correspondence from the obnoxious fan, the WNBA quickly responded, which included all concerns about racial bigotry from fans, players, franchises and anyone involved within the league’s ecosphere.

“WNBA is a league by which the perfect athletes on the earth compete. While we welcome our growing fan base, the WNBA is not going to tolerate racist, derogatory or threatening comments towards players, teams or anyone related to the league,” the statement read.

It added: “League security is actively monitoring threat activity and will work directly with teams and arenas to take appropriate measures, including the involvement of law enforcement as necessary.”

Despite Clark’s attempts to distance herself from the actions of her more hostile supporters – when she remarked earlier this 12 months, “Everyone in the world deserves the same respect” – the situation has only gotten worse.

The Sun’s Alyssa Thomas also shared her opinion, reflecting on the season’s intensity and labeling racist attacks from Clark’s fans “unacceptable.”

“Basketball is going in a great direction, but we don’t want fans who are belittling us,” Thomas said. “There’s no time for this anymore.”

However, according to Carrington, hate attacks and online attacks proceed.

While her Instagram highlights her achievements this season, her X profile has been wiped, likely in response to the relentless harassment. Despite Clark’s repeated calls for civility, the fallout from their on-court clash shows no sign of abating.


This article was originally published on : atlantablackstar.com
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