Meyers Leonard sensed trouble soon after using anti-Semitic slur, quit after phone call

NBA star Meyers Leonard is officially in trouble and the 29-year-old sensed it the moment he uttered an anti-semitic slur during his Twitch stream. The Miami Heat centre, an avid gamer, was streaming Call of Duty on his Twitch account when he called a fellow player “f–king k–e b—h” on Tuesday. The Meyers Leonard video soon went viral, with many including the NBA and the Miami Heat condemning his actions. 

Meyers Leonard Twitch stream shows Heat star receive warning call soon after using racial slur 

Meyers Leonard was recorded spewing an anti-Semitic slur during a Twitch stream of Call of Duty. "F**king k**e b**h," Leonard said while referring to one player. The 29-year-old also used some sexually vulgar language, even calling someone a "coward". Soon after the Meyers Leonard anti-semitic incident, the video went viral on social media, and the Miami Heat star soon received a warning call while on another stream. The NBA superstar told his fellow gamers that it was his wife, but his facial expressions during the call state otherwise.

The backlash even got to the 29-year-old's wife Elle Leonard. She took to Instagram just on Monday to post clips of herself playing basketball. Fans quickly took to her comment section and blasted her husband while harassing her. She would soon be forced to turn off comments completely. Some fans eve asked her to file for divorce following the Meyers Leonard anti-semitic slur controversy. 

The 29-year-old released an apology soon after, saying that he didn't know "what the word meant at the time," but said his "ignorance about its history and how offensive it is to the Jewish community is absolutely not an excuse". The 29-year-old also said he will reach out to "people who can help educate [him] about this type of hate and how we can fight it". He apologised to his team, fans and the Jewish community, promising to do better, saying: "This is not a proper representation of who I am and I want to apologise". 

The NBA are currently investigating the incident as of Tuesday. The league's spokesperson Mike Bass said in a statement: "We just became aware of the video and are in the process of gathering more information. The NBA unequivocally condemns all forms of hate speech". The Miami Heat also issued a statement, where the franchise vehemently condemned the use of any form of hate speech. Last season's beaten NBA finalists said that they will co-operate with NBA's investigation and Meyers will be suspended from the team indefinitely. 

(Image Courtesy: Timothy Burke Twitter)