Miami Heat player Meyers Leonard will be “out of the team indefinitely” after using an anti-Semitic slander while playing video games, according to the NBA franchise.
The video started circulating online on Leonard’s Tuesday playing “Call of Duty” on Twitch, a live streaming platform for players and content creators. In the video, Leonard can be heard saying, “P —— cowards. Don’t f —— stalk me, you f —— k — b —-. ”
The criticisms were quick. The Anti-Defamation League said in a post on Twitter that it was “shocked and disappointed to see @MeyersLeonard use this ugly and offensive antisemic slander”.
On Tuesday night, the Heat offered its own rebuke to Leonard, saying the organization “strongly condemns the use of any form of hate speech”.
“The words used by Meyers Leonard were wrong and we will not tolerate the hateful language of anyone associated with our franchise,” said the team on its official Twitter page. “Hearing this from a Miami Heat player is especially disappointing and painful for everyone who works here, as well as for the larger South Florida, Miami Heat and NBA communities.”
Heat owner Mickey Arison and his son Nick, the organization’s CEO, are Jewish.
Leonard later apologized to them, saying in an Instagram post that he didn’t know what the word meant.
“I deeply regret using an anti-Semitic slander during a live broadcast yesterday,” he said. “Although I didn’t know what the word meant at the time, my ignorance about its history and how offensive it is to the Jewish community is absolutely not an excuse and I was just wrong. Now I am more aware of its meaning and I am committed to seeking people who can help educate me about this type of hatred and how we can fight it. “
The NBA is “in the process of gathering more information,” league spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement. “The NBA unequivocally condemns all forms of hate speech.”
The Heat said it would cooperate with the investigation.
Leonard is a pivot in his ninth NBA season. In January, he suffered a shoulder injury and appeared in just three games for the Heat this year, the Associated Press reported.
Last summer, before the Miami Heat began its season playing the Denver Nuggets at Walt Disney World in Central Florida, Leonard stood up, hands on his heart, while most players and coaches chose to kneel during the anthem. US national.
Leonard told the Associated Press at the time that he was unable to kneel because he supported the military. He added that his brother was a US Navy veteran who served on two trips to Afghanistan and said he still supported the Black Lives Matter movement.
“I am a compassionate human being and I really love everyone,” said Leonard. “I will continue to use my platform, my voice and my actions to show how much I care about African American culture and everyone. I live my life to serve and impact others in a positive way. “
