Former Miami Heat Player Meyer Leonard Still To Rebound After Using An Antisemitic Slur Derailed His NBA Career

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Former Miami Heat center Meyers Leonard is still hoping for a second chance in the NBA.
Leonard hasn't played in more than two years after his use of an antisemitic slur ruined his once promising career. After using the term on while playing video games online, Leonard was traded from the Heat to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
A week later, Leonard was waived by the Thunder.
"There are absolutely no excuses for what happened that day," Leonard said during an interview on ESPN's E60. "Ignorance sadly is a very real thing and that's what I was. I am not running from this."
Our interview with @MeyersLeonard, the former Portland and Miami center who is hoping to return to the NBA. Nearly two years ago, he used an antisemitic slur while playing Call of Duty on Twitch. A warning--this story includes offensive language. pic.twitter.com/rWmt48Y8ID
— Jeremy Schaap (@JeremySchaap) February 1, 2023
Leonard said he just wants another chance to restart his career.
"I felt like I had just destroyed my life and everything that I had ever worked for, to be honest," Leonard said. "People had every right to make assumptions about me."
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Shandel Richardson covers the Miami Heat for Inside The Heat.
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Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star. TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here