The Miami Heat are reviewing video of center Meyers Leonard uttering an anti-Jewish slur while streaming his video-game play.
On the video, Leonard can be heard saying, “F------ cowards, don’t f------ snipe at me you f------ k--- b----.”
The anti-Semitic slur was uttered in the middle of the two profanities amid video-game play of Call of Duty, a war-simulation video game.
A team spokesman said the Heat are aware of the language used by Leonard.
Leonard is currently recovering from January shoulder surgery and is out for the season. He signed a two-year, $19.5 million contract in November to return to the team as a free agent, recently purchasing a home in Miami. The Heat hold a team option for next season’s salary.
Leonard was the lone Heat player to stand during the playing of the national anthem during the NBA’s resumption of last season in the quarantine bubble at Disney World. He said it was out of respect for family in the military, while also noting his abiding respect for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Leonard last summer stressed that he wanted to take a proactive stance with social matters.
“I truly know that I will continue to make an impact with my platform, my voice and with my resources,” he said. “I have no shame in saying that Elle and I, my wife, we donated $100,000 to the City of Miami, to Liberty City and Overtown, because they were slammed by voter suppression and COVID. And I have felt connected to this city immediately, and that was something that we felt we could do to help a place that clearly needed it.”
