Former Blazers Big Man Meyers Leonard Uses Racial Slur On Twitch

Former Portland Trail Blazers big man Meyers Leonard on Tuesday used a racial slur to describe Jewish people while playing video games on Twitch.

The Miami Heat center, an avid gamer whose Twitch channel counts over 69,000 followers, was playing Call of Duty when he insulted a fellow user with an anti-Semitic slur. WARNING: The video below of Leonard's remarks contains offensive and explicit language.

Meyers Leonard says racial slurs while playing CoD pic.twitter.com/WHwUnbV0pR
— Main Team (@MainTeamSports) March 9, 2021

Leonard last played with the Blazers in the 2018-19 season, averaging 5.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while shooting 45 percent from three-point range. His most memorable performance in a Portland uniform came during the 2019 playoffs, when Leonard dropped 30 points and 12 rebounds in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, unsuccessfully helping his team try to stave off a sweep against the Golden State Warriors.

The Blazers selected Leonard with the 11th overall pick of the 2012 draft. Though he never lived up to that lofty draft position during his seven seasons in Rip City, Leonard nonetheless developed into a fan favorite for his on-court celebrations and bellowing voice from the bench. He was traded to the Heat in July 2019 as part of the deal that brought Hassan Whiteside to Portland.

Leonard came under scrutiny in the NBA bubble for electing to stand during the national anthem as his Miami teammates and coaches kneeled in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick and Black Lives Matter, protesting systemic injustice and police brutality against Black people. In an essay published at The Undefeated in October, Leonard explained his controversial decision to stand for "The Star-Spangled Banner."

"But when my character comes into question, when I’ve clearly done my best to show in many different ways, what I stand for, who I am, whether you want to believe me or not, it hurts. There are some people behind me who have said, ‘Look, leave this dude alone.’ And I’m very thankful for that. At the end of the day, I can’t make everyone happy or believe me, but I’m going to do my damn best. And I’ve done my best to say, ‘Look, if I can do anything to help people understand, it is to understand that you can be both.’"

Leonard underwent season-ending surgery in early February to address longstanding shoulder issues. He played in just three games this season, averaging 3.3 points and 2.3 rebounds.

READ MORE: The Trail Blazers Can't Rely On Damian Lillard's Crunch-Time Heroics