Miami Heat center Meyers Leonard is under investigation by the NBA after he said an anti-Semitic slur while playing a video game live on Twitch. The Miami Heat announced Tuesday that Leonard "will be away from the team indefinitely" as it looks into the matter.
"The Miami Heat vehemently condemns the use of any form of hate speech," the team wrote. "The words used by Meyers Leonard were wrong and we will not tolerate hateful language from anyone associated with our franchise. To hear it from a Miami Heat player is especially disappointing and hurtful to all those who work here, as well as the larger South Florida, Miami Heat and NBA communities."
Leonard came under fire Monday after he hurled the slur during a "Call of Duty: Warzone" live play. The video was deleted from his Twitch channel but not before it was shared by other social media users.
He apologized Tuesday amid the backlash.
"I am deeply sorry for using an anti-Semitic slur during a livestream yesterday. While 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," Leonard wrote in a statement to Instagram.
"I am now more aware of its meaning and I am committed to properly seeking out people who can help educate me about this type of hate and how we can fight it," he continued. "I acknowledge and own my mistake and there’s no running from something like this that is so hurtful to someone else. This is not a proper representation of who I am.”
Myers has been dropped by the gaming companies he had endorsement deals with.
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