Meyers Leonard to return to NBA with Bucks two years after antisemitic comment, per report

Veteran big man Meyers Leonard is set to make his return to the NBA by signing a 10-day contract with the Milwaukee Bucks, according to Adrian Wojnarowski. Leonard has not played in over two full years due to an antisemitism scandal and multiple injuries.

In March of 2021, Leonard was livestreaming himself playing video games when he said an antisemitic slur. Following the incident, Leonard, who then played for the Miami Heat, was fined $50,000 and suspended from all team activities for a week. Shortly thereafter, he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder along with a 2027 second-round pick in exchange for Trevor Ariza. The Thunder waived Leonard and he has not played in the league since then.

While Leonard’s antisemitic comment was the driving force behind his unofficial suspension from the league, he has also dealt with numerous injuries. At the time of the incident, he was recovering from shoulder surgery, and most recently he dealt with post-surgical nerve damage in his leg. 

Now healthy, Leonard has been actively pursuing a return to the NBA. He worked out with the Los Angeles Lakers in January, and recently worked out with the Bucks, who per Wojnarowski had been monitoring his status for over a year. When news that Leonard was trying to play again first broke in January, NBA spokesman Mike Bass issued a statement:

“Since his use of a derogatory and unacceptable term in 2021, Meyers Leonard has been held accountable and has dedicated considerable time and effort to understand the impact of his comment,” Bass said. “He met with numerous leaders in the Jewish community and participated in community programs to educate himself and use his platform to share his learnings with others.”

Around that time, Leonard also appeared on ESPN’s Outside the Lines, and claimed that he was unaware of the meaning of the slur he uttered. 

“There are absolutely no excuses for what happened that day,” Leonard said. “And ignorance, sadly, is a very real thing. I am not running from this, but I did not know that it happened.

“I felt like I had just destroyed my life and everything that I worked for, to be honest. People had every right to, I suppose, make assumptions about me. People were going to have to, in the media, comment on this. And I understand, I do. I said, you better go handle this and to show people what’s in your heart … I thought that it’d be easier to be dead than it would be to deal with what had just happened, because I want everyone to like me. I don’t hate anybody. I would never intentionally hurt anybody.”

While the Bucks did already have an open roster spot, the decision to sign Leonard comes the day after it was reported that Giannis Antetokounmpo will travel to New York for further evaluations of his sprained wrist. The timing of the various reports suggest that the two-time MVP may be headed for a stint on the sidelines, which would necessitate the Bucks signing a big man.