Politics
Miami Heat’s Meyers Leonard appears to shout anti-Jewish slur in a Call of Duty live Twitch stream
MIAMI HEAT center Meyers Leonard was caught using an anti-Semitic slur while playing Call of Duty on a livestream on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old was recorded using the shocking slur during a Twitch stream as he berated his competitors for “sniping him”.
Miami Heat center Meyers Leonard was recorded using an offensive racial slur directed at Jewish people[/caption]
Leonard, seen with bleach blonde hair in the bottom left, regularly streams his gaming experience on Twitch and has built up a substantial following[/caption]
“F*****g cowards, don’t f*****g snipe me!” he begins, before shouting the derogatory term to describe Jewish people, “You f***** k**e b**ch!” before another male is heard laughing.
The Heat have not yet publicly responded to their star center’s use of the racist term.
Leonard is currently out for the remainder of the season after suffering a shoulder injury and last played in an NBA game in January.
He built up a substantial following sharing his streaming sessions in recent years, earning him a partnership with professional eSports organization FaZe Clan in June 2019.
He boasts over 69,000 Twitch followers and more than 550,000 between Twitter and Instagram.
The Virginia-born basketballer is yet to offer an explanation for the video, but he was seen receiving a phone call during the Tuesday Twitch stream, before he promptly left the game.
Leonard was the only one of his Miami teammates not to take the knee during the national anthem[/caption]
He received a call during the stream before he promptly ended it despite earlier promising followers a giveaway[/caption]
He had tweeted prior to the stream that he would give away Astro Gaming headsets to followers in a since-deleted post.
The Anti-Defamation League, a organisation dedicated to stopping the defamation of Jewish people, slammed Leonard’s use of the ethnic slur.
“We are shocked and disappointed to see @MeyersLeonard use this ugly, offensive #antisemitic slur,” they tweeted.
“We have reached out to the @MiamiHEAT and @NBA about this and urge Mr. Leonard to issue an apology immediately for this egregious and hateful rhetoric.”
The SunOnline contacted Leonard and his representatives but he could not immediately be reached for comment.
It is not the first time Leonard has landed himself in hot water either – during the NBA’S 2019/2020 season restart, he opted to stand for the national anthem – while the rest of his Heat teammates took a knee to condemn racism.
He later defended his decision in August, suggesting he could act as a patriot as well as an ally of the Black Lives Matter movement.
“I think I can be a beacon of light … not only for my voice or platform and action, but in everything I’m doing,” he told The Undefeated.
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“I certainly support Black Lives Matter. … I am very aware of what is going on. But I can be both. My patriotism runs deep.’”
The National Basketball Association has displayed a tough stance on racism in recent years.
They publicly supported the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of George Floyd’s death by emblazoning basketball courts with the BLM.
Miami Heat have not yet commented on Leonard’s controversial comments[/caption]
Leonard said last year he could be both a patriot as well as being a supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement[/caption]
