The Miami Heat have placed Meyers Leonard on indefinite leave, hours after a video surfaced of the reserve centre using an anti-Jewish slur during a video game livestream.
Leonard called an opposing player “k***,” in between other vulgarities, while playing Call of Duty: Warzone on Monday.
The NBA is in the process of investigating the 11-second clip recorded on Twitch, the popular livestreaming platform for video game players.
“The Miami Heat vehemently condemns the use of any form of hate speech … to hear it from a Miami Heat player is especially disappointing,” the team said in a statement Tuesday.
The 29-year-old later claimed he did not know what the epithet meant.
“My ignorance about its history and how offensive it is to the Jewish community is absolutely not an excuse and I was just wrong,” Leonard wrote on Instagram.
The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913 to combat anti-Semitism, said on Twitter it was “shocked and disappointed” at Leonard’s use of the word.
A nine-year NBA veteran, Leonard averaged 3.3 points, 0.7 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 9.7 minutes this season before undergoing season-ending surgery in January for a shoulder strain. It is unclear whether Leonard, who is under contract for one year at $9.4 million, will be paid while he is away from the team.