Meyers Leonard of the Miami Heat will face punishment after using an anti-Semitic slur during a Twitch stream. The incident was a shock, to say the least, and the league has taken action with Leonard. He will be fined a total of $50,000 as well as being suspended from all team facilities and activities for a week. In conjunction with the punitive punishment, Leonard will be required to go through cultural diversity training. Some on social media feel it is not enough.
Meyers Leonard will also be required to participate in a cultural diversity program, the NBA says. Leonard used an anti-Semitic slur on Monday during a video game livestream. https://t.co/eHBYNBZz1w
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 11, 2021
NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver is himself Jewish and released a statement regarding the situation.
“Yesterday, he spoke to respresentatives of the Anti-Defamation League to better understand the impact of his words and we accept that he is genuinely remoreseful.”
Silver invoked the core values of the league. Equality, tolerance, inclusions and respect. Some see the fine and suspension as not enough punishment. For a player who signed a $9.4 million contract for this season, perhaps $50k isn’t enough. For a player that has only played in three games this season, maybe a one-week suspension isn’t quite enough. However, the league has rules and guidelines it follows and will be doing so regarding this situation.
Udonis Haslem, the always present veteran of the Miami Heat released a statement on the situation as well.
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) March 11, 2021
It will be interesting to see how the roster reacts to Leonard moving forward. Haslem’s statement was powerful. There is a lot to be said about a player commanding respect from his teammates, especially one who doesn’t play a whole lot. If you aren’t providing a positive environment or attitude while riding the bench, many teams don’t have a purpose for you. Time will tell how this goes moving forward.
