Barkley: Leonard made ‘huge mistake’
Six months after Meyers Leonard appeared on TNT’s “Inside The NBA” in an emotional Sept. 11 appearance to reflect on his brother’s military service, the Miami Heat center was chastised by the show’s cast for the anti-Semitic slur he uttered this week while livestreaming video-game play.
“I like Meyers Leonard,” Charles Barkley said during the conversation between himself, fellow former players Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith, and host Ernie Johnson. “He said something that was really stupid. He made a huge mistake.”
Barkley then reflected on an essay posted on Instagram by the New England Patriots’ Julian Edelman that touched on the dangers of ignorant speech and the impact on Jewish people.
As in Edelman’s essay, Barkley spoke of forgiveness.
“We live in a society today,” Barkley said, “they call it the cancel culture, when everybody says something stupid or dumb, we want to end their life. I’m not a big believer in that.”
Leonard has been fined $50,000 by the NBA and ordered to remain away from the Heat, with pay, for a week. He is sidelined by season-ending shoulder surgery.
O’Neal said the issue does not end with the punishment.
“In an organization like the Miami Heat, which I played for, this is something they don’t really tolerate,” he said “They’re going to
have to believe that he was really sorry.”
O’Neal added, “He made a mistake. But we professional athletes, we have to realize that we’re held to higher standards. We’re watched 24/7. People like to quote us, misquote us, and we have to say the right thing, do the right thing, and we have to lead by example.”
Barkley then attempted to address the times.
“Stuff that we and I have said in the locker room when I played,
we can’t say that stuff anymore,” he said.
Smith, however, was having none of that.
“You don’t have to be careful,” he said. “You just have to educate yourself. Like, that was ridiculous. I don’t want him to be careful. I want him to realize what he’s saying or what he tried to be careful of saying is not tolerated.”
Smith said with Leonard having stood while teammates and coaches knelt for the national anthem during the NBA’s Black
Lives Matter initiative last season, the anti-Semitic slur only raises further question.
“And so, for me,” Smith said, “when he comes into the locker room, what he also has to answer is the question: Is he really sensitive of people’s backgrounds and their racial profiles, because he also stood? So were you not educated on why guys were kneeling?”
Smith concluded with, I don’t want him to just figure out, ‘Oh, I’ll only say it around these people.’”