Reserve center for the Miami Heat, Meyers Leonard, has been suspended and fined $50,000 after footage of him saying an anti-Semitic slur during a livestream went viral.
Leonard was playing the videogame “Call of Duty: Warzone” on the popular streaming platform Twitch when he said the slur. He also used other sexist and graphic language. The clip gained popularity on Tuesday, after which the Heat immediately suspended him. The Anti-Defamation League also published a statement on Twitter Tuesday, stating that they were “shocked and disappointed.” Leonard posted a public apology to Instagram later that day, saying that he did not know the origin of the word when he used it but that his “ignorance about its history and how offensive it is to the Jewish community is absolutely not an excuse.” He wrote that he plans to seek out those who can educate him and said that this behavior isn’t an accurate representation of who he is. “I promise to do better and know that my future actions will be more powerful than my use of this word,” Leonard wrote.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver made a statement Tuesday in response to the incident and said that Leonard would be required to participate in a cultural diversity program in addition to other punishments because of his actions. “Yesterday he spoke to a representative of the Anti-Defamation League to better understand the impact of his words and we accept that he is genuinely remorseful,” the statement read. “We have further communicated to Meyers that derogatory comments like this will not be tolerated and that he will be expected to uphold the core values of our league—equality, tolerance and respect—at all times moving forward.”
Head coach for the Heat, Erik Spoelstra, spoke out against Leonard’s words to reporters Wednesday. “He said something that was extremely distasteful and hurtful. And we’re left in the aftermath. We don’t condone that obviously,” Spoelstra said. Heat player Udonis Haslem said that while he has never heard Leonard use language like that before, he emphasized that these issues need to be taken seriously. “We can’t tolerate that here. Right is right and wrong is wrong,” Haslem said. “And since I’ve been here in this organization, to the day I leave this organization and beyond, we’re going to try and be on the right side of everything—especially issues like this.”
The gaming world has also denounced Leonard for his actions. Twitch suspended his account after the clip went viral, and different gaming companies have severed their relationships with Leonard.
