Meyers Leonard Returning to NBA on 10-Day Contract With Bucks, per Report
The Bucks are signing center Meyers Leonard to a 10-day contract, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
It will be the first time Leonard, 30, plays for a team since he used an antisemitic slur while live-streaming himself playing Call of Duty in 2021. In the stream, Leonard could be heard saying “F------ cowards, don’t f------ snipe at me you f------ k--- b----.”
In a recent interview with ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap, Leonard claimed he didn’t know what the slur meant but also apologized for his actions.
“There are absolutely no excuses for what happened that day,” Leonard told Schaap. “Ignorance is sadly a very real thing, and that’s what I was. I’m not running from this, but I did not know that it happened.”
The NBA initially fined Leonard, who was set to miss the rest of the season following shoulder surgery, $50,000 and suspended him from team activities for one week in March 2021. Leonard was also required to participate in a cultural diversity program.
During the suspension, the Heat traded Leonard along with a 2027 second-round pick to the Thunder for Trevor Ariza, but Oklahoma City stated that he would not participate in team activities and released him before the end of the month.
While he was a free agent for nearly two years, Leonard underwent surgery on his right ankle and was soon found to have nerve damage in his leg. He’s spent his time away from the league rehabbing both that injury and his reputation.
