Meyers Leonard signing with Bucks nearly two years after anti-Semitic slur

Nearly two years after uttering an anti-Semitic slur, Meyers Leonard is back in the NBA.

The 30-year-old free-agent big man signed a 10-day contract with the Bucks, according to ESPN. The Bucks had been monitoring Leonard for over a year, and he worked out for the team last month, per the report. Milwaukee had an open roster spot to fill.

Leonard has been out of the NBA since March 2021, and hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since January 2021.

While playing the popular video game “Call of Duty” during a livestream in March 2021, Leonard used the known anti-Semitic slur “k–e” to address another player.

“F–ing coward, Leonard said on the livestream. “Don’t f–king snipe me, you f–king k–e b—h.”

Moments later, Leonard ended the livestream, and issued an apology later in the evening. He claimed he did not know what the word meant.

The NBA suspended Leonard for 10 days and fined him $50,000 for the slur, although he was not playing at the time due to an injury. Leonard was dropped by multiple sponsors as well.

Barely one week after the suspension, the Heat traded Leonard to the Thunder, who immediately waived him. He had not found another NBA suitor since.

“There are absolutely no excuses for what happened that day,” Leonard recently said on ESPN’s “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.

“I felt like I had just destroyed my life and everything that I worked for, to be honest… 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.”

Shoulder and ankle rehab delayed Leonard’s comeback attempt, and it wasn’t until earlier this season that he began to again pursue NBA contracts.

Leonard spent the first seven years of his career with the Trail Blazers, who selected him with the No. 11 pick out of Illinois in the 2012 draft, before playing two seasons with the Heat. He averaged 5.9 points and 3.2 rebounds a game in his nine seasons.

“Since his use of a derogatory and unacceptable term in 2021, Meyers Leonard has been held accountable and has dedicated considerable time and effort to understand the impact of his comment,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass recently said in a statement, as Leonard began working out for teams. “He has met with numerous leaders in the Jewish community and participated in community programs to educate himself and use his platform to share his learnings with others.”