Miami Heat player Meyers Leonard is under fire for using an anti-Semitic slur during a Twitch stream Tuesday, which has reportedly cost him a gaming sponsorship.
Warning: the following quote and video clip below it contains strong and anti-Semitic language
""F****** cowards, don't f****** snipe me, you f****** k*** b****," Leonard said in the clip during a Twitch stream playing Call of Duty: Warzone.
Meyers Leonard says racial slurs while playing CoD
— Main Team (@MainTeamSports) March 9, 2021
The response to the clip has been swift, with the NBA releasing a statement condemning hate speech.
"NBA spokesman Mike Bass statement on Meyers Leonard, who said an anti-Semitic slur on a video game stream: 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," Shams Charania, Senior NBA Insider for The Athletic, reported in a tweet.
Talk show host for Fox Sports 640, Andy Slater, reported, "Meyers Leonard's gaming sponsorship [with ORIGIN PC] has been cancelled, a source tells me."
Peripheral company Scuf Gaming also announced in a tweet that the company ceased its working relationship with the player.
"The Heat are reviewing video of center Meyers Leonard using an anti-Semitic slur earlier today while live-streaming his video-game play via Twitch, according to a team spokesman," Marc Stein of the New York Times said in a tweet.
Leonard signed a two-year, $19.5 million contract with the Miami Heat in November.
Leonard became a popular personality on Twitch last season amid the COVID-19 pandemic and 2019-2020 NBA season pause. Leonard is also an investor in gaming organization FaZe Clan.
FaZe Clan has not made a statement, as of writing. This story will be updated as more information is made public.
Update (March 10, 1:26 p.m.): FaZe Clan announced March 9 at 6:51 p.m. that the organization cut ties with Leonard.
