Miami Heat center Meyers Leonard has been fined $ 50,000, suspended from team facilities and banned from team activities for a week for his anti-Semitic insult while playing video games on Monday.
Leonard will also be required to participate in a cultural diversity program.
“Meyers Leonard’s comment was inexcusable and painful, and such an offensive term does not occur in the NBA or in our society,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement.
In a video that began circulating on social media on Tuesday, Leonard can be heard saying, “F — ing cowards; not f — ing snipe me, you f — ing k — b – – -. “
By Tuesday night, the Heat had announced that Leonard would be away from the team indefinitely, and the center apologized in the Instagram post, partially writing, “I promise to do better and I know my future actions will be stronger than using that word.” “
“He said something extremely disgusting and painful,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said on Wednesday. “And I was left with the consequences of that.”
Silver said on Wednesday that Leonard spoke with the Anti-Defamation League, an organization that was founded to fight anti-Semitism. Leonard’s mandatory cultural diversity program is a multisession course that provides cultural, racial and sensitivity training.
“We accept that he is really remorseful,” Silver continued in a statement. “We have further communicated to Meyers that such derogatory comments will not be tolerated and he will be expected to uphold the core values of our league – equality, tolerance, inclusion and respect – all the time.”
Silver, who appears on ESPN’s Greeny, told Mike Greenberg’s host that Leonard met voluntarily with the Anti-Defamation League. He also said that the $ 50,000 fine is the maximum amount a player can be fined for this type of act.
“I accept his word that he did not understand the importance of what he was saying and he pays a price for it,” he said.
The suspension does not include a loss of salary for the missed games, as Leonard is currently injured, sources Bobby Marks of ESPN have confirmed. He appeared in just three games for the Heat this year and was diagnosed with a shoulder injury at the end of the season in January. He will continue to be compensated for the five games played by the Heat during his suspension. Had he been healthy, Leonard would have lost $ 324,000.
Leonard could become a free agent this summer; The Heat have a team option for him for next season worth about $ 10 million.