Samson: Heat made a mistake with statement following Meyers Leonard's anti-Semitic remark
David Samson believes that the Heat took the wrong route with the Leonard situation
By
Chris Bengel
•
1 min read
Earlier this week, Miami Heat forward Meyers Leonard was participating in a live stream on his Twitch channel and ended up uttering an anti-Semitic slur while calling he was playing Call of Duty: Warzone. On Tuesday night, the Heat announced that Leonard will be away from the team indefinitely while the league and the Heat investigate the matter. Leonard did issue an apology for his actions after the video was unearthed.
"The Miami Heat vehemently condemns the use of any form of hate speech," the team said in a statement. "The words used by Meyers Leonard were wrong and we will not tolerate hateful language from anyone associated with our franchise. To hear it from a Miami Heat player is especially disappointing and hurtful to all those who work here, as well as the larger South Florida, Miami Heat and NBA communities. Meyers Leonard will be away from the team indefinitely. The Miami Heat will cooperate with the NBA while it conducts its investigation."
During Wednesday's installment of "Nothing Personal with David Samson," David Samson weighed in on the Leonard situation and believes that Heat owner Mickey Arison should've put out a statement himself.
"It took the Heat nine hours to respond," Samson said. "When they did, they responded in the weakest way a team can respond. They hid behind their own brand. 'The Miami Heat has released the following document.' That is bull. When you're Mickey Arison, you've got to release it yourself with your name. Along with Pat Riley, you've been the face of this organization with all the greatness that the Heat has done on and off the court. You've got to be the face when one of your players goes something that boils the skin of your community and fans in a way that is disgraceful. The Heat is not a person, the Heat is an entity."
Samson also took issue with Leonard's apology and how he revealed that he didn't know what the anti-Semitic slur meant. If that is a true statement, Samson believes that more education was in order for the Miami big man.
