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Is Meyers Leonard canceled? Miami Heat center uses anti-Semitic slur on Twitch, sparks fury: 'Bigoted a**'

Last year, he was the only Heat player who stood during the National Anthem while his peers knelt and he was under fire for the same

Meyers Leonard, known for his work as the reserve center for NBA's Miami Heat, is in hot waters after a video of him using an anti-Semitic slur on the live streaming platform Twitch surfaced. As per reports, Leonard was playing the video game 'Call Of Duty: Warzone' during his live stream where after calling someone a "coward", he said what The New York Times called a "slur followed by a sexist vulgarity". While the video made headlines on Monday, March 8, it blew up Twitter on Tuesday, March 9, with many slamming the Heat player.

If you're wondering how Leonard is handling the situation, then it's been reported that after the clip of him uttering the slur took over social media, Leonard was on live streaming a different session of the same game. During that live chat, he was faced with comments about the slur which resulted in him ending the stream after he got a phone call. He told his followers, "My wife needs me. She just called. I've got to roll, brother."

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What did Meyers Leonard say and what are the consequences?

As per reports, the clip sees Leonard say, "F***ing cowards. Don’t f***ing snipe me! You f***ing k**e b***h". The 29-year-old has over 69,000 followers on the streaming platform, and as many heard his use of the words. You can watch the clip below. As per Marc Stein, The New York Times reporter, a spokesperson for the Heat has said that the video is being reviewed.

Shams Charania from 'The Athletic' also shared a statement from Mike Bass, NBA spokesman, who said, "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." Furthermore, Andy Slater, another reporter tweeted, "SLATER SCOOP: Meyers Leonard’s gaming sponsorship has been cancelled, a source tells me. The computer company, ORIGIN PC, made the move after the Heat player used an anti-Semitic slur online."

Leonard ended up releasing a statement apologizing for his words on Tuesday night. You can read it below.

Is Meyers Leonard canceled?

This isn't the first time that Leonard has had issues. During the Miami Heat’s finals last year, he was the only Heat player who stood during the National Anthem, when his peers knelt. He was asked about why he didn't kneel, to which he replied that he was as per Complex, "unable to separate the protest from the false idea that it is disrespecting military". "Some of the conversations I’ve had over the past three days, quite literally, have been the most difficult. I am with the Black Lives Matter movement and I love and support the military and my brother and the people who have fought to defend our rights in this country," Leonard told Associated Press later in August. 

As for now though, is he being canceled? If you know Twitter, you know that the Heat player wasn't spared the harsh wake-up call.

"Anyone surprised that Meyers Leonard said what he said must have missed this photo. America has and always will use "patriotism" to get away with racism. This guy is a piece of shit. He doesn't deserve good things. Call it what you want. Cancel culture, whatever," said one user. Another added, "This is exactly it. The fact that he's hiding behind the "I didn't realize......" lie is so fucking stupid. He knew EXACTLY what he was saying, and the EXACT context in which he wanted to say it. Bigoted ass mother fucker. Cancel culture isn't a thing, but cancel Meyers Leonard."

Another added, "People defending Meyers Leonard have 0 brain cells. It’s not cancel culture what he did was outright dumb and insensitive. Meyers Leonard had a platform and, oh boy, he fucked up". I didn't think there was a ceiling for COD trash talk, but some how, Meyers Leonard found it. You gotta be a special kinda racist to pull them words outta your soul," said another user.

There were some who found the hype over the incident ridiculous. "Man y’all so soft nowadays everyone tryna cancel Meyers Leonard now for saying a slur that was not directed at anyone while playing a video game cmon. Now this slur I Garuntee 90% of the population didn’t even know what it meant this is bullshit I’m not even a Meyers Leonard fan," said one user. Another added, "If you've ever played COD and are trying to cancel Meyers Leonard you're a hypocrite. You know damn well you've said shit 10000 times worse than what he did. Ever watch an mw2 compilation? That was every lobby and everyone in it."

Yet another added, "Bru I’m Jewish and y’all are soft as hell the man is playing Cod and isint actually anti Semitic Meyers Leonard the player I respect the most on Miami Heat and I’m a Heat fan he stands for the flag." Another further called for forgiveness, writing, "Feel bad for Meyers Leonard bc he made ONE mistake and now he's a disgusting person to most. World is so sad, it's crazy how quick people try and cancel others. Gotta learn to forgive and move on, he made a mistake and he'll learn from it."

In fact, companies have already started to distance themselves from Meyers. FaZe, SCUF, originpic and many more said that they were cutting ties with the Heat player.