Heat’s Erik Spoelstra Condemns Meyers Leonard’s ‘Distasteful, Hurtful’ Comment

It’s to be seen how things will play out for Meyers Leonard, but right now, he’s in some hot water.

The Miami Heat center used an anti-Semitic slur so casually it was shocking while live streaming on his Twitch channel. The fallout has included the loss of sponsorships and an NBA investigation into the incident, not to mention an indefinite leave from the team.

Leonard on Tuesday apologized for his remarks, and the Heat expressed their disappointment Wednesday.

“I’m disappointed. Those words are extremely hurtful,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said, via Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “We don’t condone that and there’s just so much more that needs to be done in terms of education on what’s right versus what’s wrong.

“We know Meyers. Meyers has been a really good teammate. He’s a good human being. He said something that was extremely distasteful and hurtful, and we’re left with the aftermath of that. But we don’t condone that, obviously. It was a disappointing day.”

A fine or suspension is likely, and though Meyers has plead ignorant to how offensive the phrase is, and those around him seem to believe that, every cause has an effect.

“Basically that you can’t brush it under the rug,” Spoelstra shared about what he personally told Leonard. “There are consequences to words, and those were extremely hurtful words.”