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Meyers Leonard is getting one other probability on the NBA, almost two years after he used an anti-Semitic slur whereas enjoying a online game that was being dwell streamed.
An individual with information of the negotiations mentioned Leonard and the Milwaukee Bucks have agreed on a 10-day contract, opening the door for the 216cm centre to play in an NBA recreation for the primary time since January 2021. The individual spoke to The Related Press on situation of anonymity as a result of the deal had not been introduced.
ESPN first reported the settlement between Leonard and the Bucks.
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Leonard’s profession was jeopardised and his status was severely broken in March 2021 when it was found that he used a slur whereas enjoying an internet recreation as others watched on a dwell stream. The Warmth informed him to keep away from the staff indefinitely, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver fined him greater than $70,000 and Miami finally traded him to Oklahoma Metropolis.
Leonard mentioned then that he knew he’d used a nasty time period, however was unaware of the time period’s which means. In an apology, he mentioned “my ignorance about its historical past and the way offensive it’s to the Jewish neighborhood is completely not an excuse and I used to be simply flawed.” He instantly started scheduling conferences with Holocaust survivors, rabbis in South Florida and different neighborhood leaders.
That was the beginning of him spending a lot of the final two years making an attempt to atone for what he did — virtually all of it quietly, in a deliberate effort to quash any notion his work was merely completed to get constructive media protection.
He has spoken and labored with a number of Jewish teams on varied issues, placed on quite a few basketball camps for Jewish kids and apologised numerous occasions for what he mentioned and his ignorance about what the time period meant.
Leonard was not going to play within the the rest of that 2020-21 season after struggling a shoulder harm in January of 2021, two months earlier than the incident. He has since handled ankle and different points, however has been working towards an NBA return for months.
For the Bucks, the transfer carries virtually no threat. They will get 10 days to see if Leonard — who was with Miami for its run to the 2020 NBA Finals within the restart bubble at Walt Disney World — might help with their playoff push.
Most gamers and coaches selected to kneel in that bubble for the enjoying of the US and Canadian nationwide anthems when the NBA season resumed there. Leonard stood as an alternative, his hand over his coronary heart, and did so with the assist of Warmth teammates.
“I’m a compassionate human being and I really love all folks,” Leonard informed The Related Press on the time.
For his profession, Leonard has averaged 5.6 factors and three.9 rebounds on 48 per cent taking pictures, 39 per cent from three-point vary.
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