An NBA player has come under fire after a video surfaced of him using an anti-Semitic slur during a livestreamed video game, CNN reports.
Meyers Leonard, who plays forward-center for the Miami Heat, was captured on the video app Twitch while playing the popular video game “Call of Duty: Warzone” where he reportedly said: “F**king cowards. Don’t f**king snipe at me. You k*** b****.”
The video was not posted on Leonard’s official Twitch account, but elsewhere where he was identified.
Leonard took to Instagram to issue a formal apology, saying that he is “deeply sorry for using an anti-Semitic slur.”
“While I didn’t know what the word meant at the time, my ignorance about its history and how offensive it is to the Jewish community is absolutely not an excuse and I was just wrong,” the note read. “I am now more aware of its meaning and I am committed to properly seeking out people who can help educate me about this type of hate and how we can fight it.”
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) March 10, 2021