Heat center Meyers Leonard will be away from the team indefinitely after using an anti-Semitic slur during a recent video game game stream.
Leonard pronounced Slur on his Twitch live stream on Monday playing “Call of Duty: Warzone”. A clip of that stream sparked social media on Tuesday, forcing a massive online backlash and forcing Leonard, the Heat and the NBA to address their comments.
Here’s how the situation involving Leonard started and the latest news on his status with the Heat.
What Happened on Meyers Leonards Twitch Stream?
In his Monday Night Twitch stream, Leonard was heard saying the K-word, a derogatory term against the Jewish people. (For those unfamiliar with the term, Baltimore Jewish Times The breakdown of various anti-Jewish slaves and their origins.)
“F-Cowguard,” Leonard said. “F-ing Snip Me, U F-ing K-B-“
(Warning: offensive language in the video below.)
Avid gamer Leonard was hosting another “Call of Duty: Warzone” stream on Tuesday, when the clip surfaced on social media. Patrick Redford of Defector noted On Leonard’s stream, messages about abuses began to be filled in the chat room. Arbitrators attempted to remove some of those messages and ban viewers, eventually switching to “amot-only mode”. (Quotes are essentially twitch versions of emoticons or emojis.)
In the middle of that Tuesday’s stream, Leonard said that his wife Elle had called him and needed him. He suddenly stopped playing.
After the clip was widely shared, Leonard appeared Delete tweets promoting your twitch account And Their archived videos.
Since many gaming companies have Ended its partnership with Leonard, And Twitch has banned Leonard from streaming on stage.
A company spokesperson said, “We do not allow scandalous acts to twitch,” Jacob Wolf towards Dot Esports. “The safety of our community is our top priority, and according to our guidelines we reserve the right to suspend any account that we deem unfair, harmful or put our community at risk.”
How did meyers leonard respond?
Leonard released An apology on instagram Hours after his comments arrived. This statement in full:
I am deeply sorry for using the anti-Semitic slur during a live stream yesterday. While I did not know what the term meant at the time, my ignorance about its history and how offensive it is to the Jewish community is not an excuse at all and I was just wrong. I am now more aware of its meaning and I am committed to properly seeking people who can help educate me about this type of hatred and how we can fight it.
I accept my mistake and my fault and there is nothing that is so tragic for someone else. It is not a fair representation of who I am and I want to apologize to my loyal colleagues and others in the Jews, to my peers, coaches, the front office, and to everyone involved with the Miami Heat organization. The community that has hurt me. I promise to do better and know that my future actions will be more powerful than my use of the word.
How did the Heat and NBA react?
heat Issued a statement Tuesday night said the team “strongly condemns the use of any form of hate speech.”
“The words used by Meyers Leonard were incorrect and we will not tolerate hate speech from anyone associated with our franchise,” the statement said. “To hear it is a Miami Heat player especially disappointing and detrimental to everyone who works here, as well as the larger Florida, Miami Heat and NBA communities.”
NBA spokesman Mike Bass said on Tuesday that the league was in the process of gathering more information and “Disproportionately condemns all forms of hate speech.”
What is Meyers Leonard’s position with the Heat?
Leonard will stay away from the Heat indefinitely and Miami plans to fully cooperate with the NBA while it conducts an investigation. As of Wednesday morning, it was unclear whether the league would fix and / or suspend Leonard for his comments.
The 29-year-old elder appeared in only three games this season before a shoulder injury that required surgery. Leonard has one more year left on his current contract, but he could hit free agency this summer because of his deal Includes a team option for next season Priced at $ 10.1 million.
Financials for Meyers Leonard and the Miami Heat:
Available $ 4.8M Handicapped player exception is still available if Leonard is forgiven (lose it if he trades)
?Is owes $ 4.18M of his $ 9.4M salary
The post deadline: If only the $ 10.1M team option is exercised, it can only be traded offscreen– Bobby Marks (@ BobbyMarks42) March 10, 2021
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