Sports star takes deserved ‘Heat’ for anti-Semitic slur 

Regarding “NBA fines Meyers Leonard $50,000 for using anti-Semitic slur” (published online March 11, Jewish Light).

My congratulations to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver (who is Jewish) for taking action against Miami Heat player Miles Leonard after Leonard was caught saying “k—” on a video game stream. Although Leonard is currently sidelined with an injury, he was also put on an indefinite leave of absence.

Leonard’s defense was that he was ignorant of what the word meant, and according to Silver, was remorseful.

I don’t buy it. I submit that Leonard knew exactly what the word meant, otherwise, he wouldn’t have used it, and that his explanation is just not plausible. He apologized only when he was “outed.”

Sports has always been known as a business that incorporates unity, diversity and tolerance, regardless of race, religion or ethnicity. However, that is not completely true. Leonard is not the first athlete to be singled out for insensitive bigotry and won’t be the last.

Discrimination is a staple of life, and as much as decent, civil-minded, people try to mitigate such bigotry and intolerance, it will continue to thrive and live on ad infinitum regardless of what the circumstances.

Just another example of the age-old adage: “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

Gene Carton, University City, Olivette

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