Meyers Leonard of the Miami Heat By Getty Images

By Benyamin Cohen April 8, 2021

The University of Miami Hillel is organizing a Zoom event next Tuesday with Meyers Leonard, the NBA player who came under attack for using an antisemitic slur, titled “From Heat to Healing.” The frank conversation with the 29-year-old power forward will be led by Matthew Hiltzik, a PR consultant and producer of the Holocaust documentary film, Paperclips.

Leonard found himself embroiled in controversy last month after he blurted out a string of expletives – including “you f—-ing kike bitch” – while he was playing the video game “Call of Duty,” which he was broadcasting for the general public on the platform Twitch.

The Anti-Defamation League and other groups called for the Miami Heat to take action. NFL star Julian Edelman, one of the most prominent Jewish professional athletes in America, wrote an open letter to Leonard inviting him to a Shabbat dinner in Miami.

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The Heat traded Meyers to the Oklahoma City Thunder, but in a somewhat unusual move, the Thunder said it plans to sideline him. “Leonard will not be reporting to Oklahoma City and will not be an active member of the organization,” the team said in a statement at the time.

Instead, Leonard was to be part of a package deal: The Miami Heat also gave the Thunder their second-round pick in the 2027 draft. As part of the deal, forward Trevor Ariza went from Oklahoma to Miami.

The event sponsored by the University of Miami Hillel is intended only for a student audience.

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