Two years ago, NBA star Meyers Leonard caused quite a bit of controversy after he used some hateful anti-Jewish language on a live stream. Leonard hasn’t played in the league since after he was given a one-week suspension and has also dealt with injuries. But it looks like he’s making a return to the league.
According to a report by NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, former Miami Heat and Portland Trail Blazers big man Meyers Leonard is signing a 10-day contract with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Shortly after his controversial comments, Leonard did an interview with ESPN’s Outside The Lines where he revealed that he did not know the source of the hateful term that he used.
“There are absolutely no excuses for what happened that day,” Leonard said on Outside The Lines. “And ignorance, sadly, is a very real thing. I am not running from this, but I did not know that it happened.”
After the incident, Leonard said he sought counseling from two rabbis in South Florida and met with several Jewish organizations on a frequent basis.
“I felt like I had just destroyed my life and everything that I worked for, to be honest,” Leonard said on OTL “… People had every right to, I suppose, make assumptions about me. People were going to have to, in the media, comment on this. And I understand, I do.
“I said, ‘You better go handle this and to show people what’s in your heart.’ … I thought that it’d be easier to be dead than it would be to deal with what had just happened because I want everyone to like me. I don’t hate anybody. I would never intentionally hurt anybody.”
We’ll have to see how Leonard’s return goes.
[ESPN]