Meyers Leonard is facing additional consequences after using an anti-Semitic slur during a live stream.
The Miami Heat announced Tuesday night that Leonard will be “away from the team indefinitely” following Monday’s incident on Twitch.
“The Miami Heat vehemently condemns the use of any form of hate speech,” the team said in a statement. “The words used by Meyers Leonard were wrong and we will not tolerate hateful language from anyone associated with our franchise. To hear it from a Miami Heat player is especially disappointing and hurtful to all those who work here, as well as the larger South Florida, Miami Heat and NBA communities.”
Heat owner Mickey Arison and CEO Nick Arison are Jewish.
Leonard took to Instagram on Tuesday to apologize and claimed he “didn’t know what the word meant” when he used it.
“This is not a proper representation of who I am,” he wrote in his post. “… I promise to do better and know that my future actions will be more powerful than my use of this word.”
The center already has lost sponsorships with ORIGIN PC and SCUF Gaming as a result of the incident.
The NBA is looking into the matter, per spokesperson Mike Bass.
