Basketball Player Sees Gravity of Antisemitism

By Lubavitch.com and COLlive

After former Miami Heat player Meyers Leonard uttered an antisemitic slur on a gaming live stream, he took responsibility and worked with Chabad Rabbis to learn about the hurt such words can cause. Last year, Rabbi Pinny Andrusier introduced him to South Florida Jewish community members and invited him to distribute Matzos and meals to holocaust survivors away from the cameras.

When the University of Illinois decided to honor Leonard and his wife, Elle Leonard, at a basketball game for a $500,000 donation to the renovation and expansion of the Ubben Basketball Complex, people, especially those in the Jewish community, were upset at the news.

Rabbi Dovid Tiechtel, executive director of the Illini Chabad Center, heard hurt, anger and frustration from students about the upcoming visit. How, people wondered, could Leonard be honored? Rabbi Tiechtel soon connected with Leonard by phone, and the two organized what was intended to be a 30-minute visit to the Illini Chabad Center.

Virtual and limited in-person options were offered for people to ask Leonard questions during the event, billed as “Hate, Antisemitism & Forgiveness.”

The visit lasted for 90 minutes and Rabbi Tiechtel said the tone following the event has been overwhelmingly positive after hearing Leonard speak.

“Students shared personal stories with antisemitism on campus, and Meyers listened,” Rabbi Tiechtel said. “Leviticus teaches to ‘Love your neighbor as yourself;’ when we err, wouldn’t we want our neighbors to help us return to the right path?”