NBA Fines and Suspends Meyers Leonard for Saying Antisemitic Slur
During a livestream while he was playing a video game on Monday March 8, Miami Heat player Meyers Leonard said an antisemitic slur. The NBA has announced that Leonard will be fined $50,000, suspended from team activities for one week, and required to participate in a cultural diversity program. If Leonard had been an active player then he would have forfeited each of his game checks during the suspension, but because he is currently on the injured list he will still be paid by the team; this loophole makes no sense, and hopefully the NBA will close the loophole: a suspended player should not be paid, regardless of his injury status. Per the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement, a $50,000 fine is the maximum amount that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has the authority to issue for "any statement having, or that was designed to have, an effect prejudicial or detrimental to the best interest of basketball."
Here is Commissioner Silver's official statement: "Meyers Leonard's comment was inexcusable and hurtful and such an
offensive term has no place in the NBA or in our society. Yesterday, he
spoke to representatives of the Anti-Defamation League to better
understand the impact of his words and we accept that he is genuinely
remorseful. We have further communicated to Meyers that derogatory
comments like this will not be tolerated and that he will be expected to
uphold the core values of our league--equality, tolerance, inclusion
and respect--at all times moving forward."
TNT's "Inside the NBA" did not ignore this story--which is an improvement over how "Inside the NBA" initially ignored antisemitic comments by DeSean Jackson, Ice Cube, and former NBA player Stephen Jackson last summer. "Inside the NBA" positions itself as more than just a basketball highlights show, and after staking out that position they have assumed the responsibility to speak out about all relevant issues, as opposed to picking and choosing certain issues.
Ernie Johnson opened the segment about Leonard by reading Commissioner Silver's statement, and then each panelist commented. Charles Barkley condemned what Leonard said, and stated that everyone has a responsibility to become better educated. Barkley also noted that Julian Edelman--the New England Patriots wide receiver, who happens to be Jewish--wrote a social media post both criticizing Leonard but also expressing compassion and offering to meet with Leonard to help educate him about this topic. Barkley pointed out that Edelman extended a similar invitation to DeSean Jackson last year after Jackson made his ignorant and offensive comments about Jews, and Barkley said that he agrees with Edelman's approach of "constructive criticism and compassion." Barkley stated that he prefers Edelman's approach to the "cancel culture."
Prior to Edelman's social media post, Leonard
posted online, "While I didn't know what the word meant at the time, 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
added, "I am now more aware of its meaning and I am committed
to properly seeking out people who can help educate me about this type
of hate and how we can fight it." I will not speculate about what Leonard knew or did not know, or about what is in Leonard's heart. The simple fact is that what he said is unacceptable, and it is important that the NBA is emphasizing how unacceptable it is.
Shaquille O'Neal, who helped the Heat win the 2006 NBA title, mentioned that the franchise has a Jewish owner and that the franchise will not tolerate what Leonard did. O'Neal also pointed out that Miami has a large Jewish community that will want to be assured "that he is really sorry." O'Neal noted that athletes are highly scrutinized for what they say and what they do, and they have a responsibility to act accordingly.
Barkley added that comments and words that he and other players used to
say to each other in locker rooms and other private situations would get someone
fined, suspended, or fired today, so all people must be careful about
what they say because you never know who is watching or listening.
Kenny Smith disagreed with Barkley: "You don't have to 'be careful.' You just have to educate yourself...I don't want him to 'be careful.' I want him to realize what he is saying or what he is trying to be careful of saying is not tolerated." That is an excellent point, but then Smith attempted to link Leonard's antisemitic slur to Leonard not kneeling during the National Anthem. There is no valid connection between hate speech and standing for the National Anthem; to suggest otherwise is to assert that anyone who stands for the National Anthem is a racist, which would be an absurd and offensive position (perhaps that is not what Smith means, and hopefully he will clarify that at some point). Also, standing for the National Anthem is a job requirement for NBA employees, though the league provided leeway regarding this requirement during the "bubble" portion of last season. People have a right to kneel or not kneel, and employers also have a right to determine conditions of employment, as I explained in a recent article:
I am not deeply offended by people who kneel for the National Anthem,
but I am puzzled by what they think they are accomplishing. The
National Anthem is not the Confederate flag; it is not a symbol of
oppression, unless you believe that this country is fundamentally evil. I
believe that this country has done wrong and must do better, but that
this country is also, in President Abraham Lincoln's heartfelt, eloquent
words, "the last best hope of Earth." I believe that there are other,
better ways to protest injustice, and/or call attention to specific
situations than not standing for the National Anthem. The playing of the
National Anthem is a moment when all of us can stand together in
gratitude for what this country has accomplished, and in hope for what
this country will accomplish in terms of righting past wrongs/doing
better in the future.
Although I stand for the National
Anthem, I can respect someone who peacefully decides to kneel--but only
if that person is also willing to accept the potential consequences of
that action. If the National Anthem is that offensive to one's ears,
then the political and economic systems that enable the NBA to exist and
thrive are also offensive.
It really is simple. The NBA, as a
private employer, has a right to play the National Anthem before games
with the expectation that its employees will stand respectfully while
the National Anthem is played. Each person has a right to decide what
terms of employment are acceptable financially, morally, and
otherwise--and each person has a right to decide to seek employment from
an employer whose rules and policies align with behaviors that are are
palatable to that person.
It is good that the "Inside the NBA" crew commented about what Leonard said and why it is wrong. "Inside the NBA" is one of the most respected and influential studio shows, so people pay attention to what is discussed and what is not discussed. However, I find it interesting that the Leonard situation was not mentioned at all until near the end of TNT's coverage last night. Usually, when the "Inside the NBA" crew has something to say about a social or political issue that takes place during the first segment of the pregame show.
Labels: Adam Silver, Ice Cube, Inside the NBA, Meyers Leonard, Miami Heat, NBA, Stephen Jackson
posted by David Friedman @ 6:06 PM
"Inside the NBA" Should Have Discussed DeSean Jackson's Comments and the Farrakhan Issue
It was great to see the original "Inside the NBA" crew tonight. "Inside the NBA" is probably the greatest sports studio show ever, providing a deft combination of intelligence and humor while covering a broad range of topics beyond who won and who lost. "Inside the NBA" has a long track record of thoughtfully discussing a wide variety of issues.
The high standard long set by "Inside the NBA" is why I am disappointed that tonight's episode ignored recent pro-Louis Farrakhan statements made by several high profile people, including Ice Cube, DeSean Jackson and Stephen Jackson.
Ice Cube has been a guest on "Inside the NBA" and he collaborated with Kenny Smith for a Kobe Bryant tribute aired by TNT. DeSean Jackson is an NFL player, but "Inside the NBA" discussed at length comments recently made by NFL player Drew Brees. Stephen Jackson is an NBA champion and a prominent sports media personality.
Ice Cube tweeted, "
The Honorable Louis Farrakhan continues to warn America to this very second and he's labeled one of your 'evil names' and you turn your ears off. Why is the truth so offensive that you can't stand to hear it?"
DeSean Jackson tweeted with approval a quote that he (incorrectly) attributed to Adolf Hitler stating that Jews "will blackmail America" and Jackson also tweeted his support for Louis Farrakhan.
Stephen Jackson reacted to DeSean Jackson's tweet by repeating the classic antisemitic trope that Jews run all of the banks: "You know who the Rothschilds are? They own all the banks...I haven't said one thing that's untrue yet." Stephen Jackson also said, "I'm a fan of Minister Farrakhan because nobody loves Black people more than
him. He hasn't told me to hate somebody one time. He's teaching me how to be a leader. Just because you don't like him, doesn't mean I'm gonna not like him."
It never should be acceptable to promote hatred, and one would hope that in today's climate any kind of hatred would be deemed unacceptable. Perhaps you are not familiar with Louis Farrakhan; perhaps you agree with Chuck D, the front man for Public Enemy--unquestionably one of the greatest rap groups ever--who once sang, "The follower of Farrakhan/Don't tell me that you understand/Until you hear the man."
Fair enough. Let's hear the man. Here is Louis Farrakhan in his own words:
"The Jews, a small handful, control the movement of this great nation,
like a radar controls the movement of a great ship in the waters...The
Jews got a stranglehold on the Congress." February 25, 1990 speech.
"I think Hillary Rodham Clinton is a part of, if you trace her lineage,
she go right back to the Rothschilds. Her daughter is about to marry a
Jewish young man. This is no accident." July 11, 2010 speech.
"How did we get a Black president? Because those Satanic Jews know that
this is the time of your separation from them that God wants to give you
a land of your own as the cornerstone of the Kingdom of God. You didn't
see when they got in the room and said 'we have to deceive them and
through them deceive the entire world.' How could they be the chosen of
God and leading the world into filth and indecency?" October 3, 2010 speech.
"The Satanic Jews that control everything and mostly everybody, if they are your enemy, then you must be somebody." March 2, 2014 speech.
"[Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul] Wolfowitz, so-called
Jew, but a member of the Synagogue of Satan...Satan is a human being
without human characteristics. That's why the revelator called them
beasts in human form. These are people sitting in the Pentagon, planning
the destruction of Muslim nations...Wolfowitz had 10 years now, to plan
how they're gonna clean out the Middle East and take over those Muslim
nations. They needed another Pearl Harbor. They needed some event that
was cataclysmic, that would make the American people rise up, ready for
war...they plotted a false flag operation and when a government is so
rotten that they will kill innocent people to accomplish a political
objective, you are not dealing with a human. You're dealing with Satan
himself, the Synagogue of Satan...you're dealing with Satan himself, the
Synagogue of Satan...Now they got into the Bush administration and on 9/11
the Twin Towers went down...George Bush, and those devils, Satans around
him. They plotted 9/11. Ain't no Muslim took control of no plane." February 28, 2016 speech.
"I'm not an anti-Semite. I’m anti-Termite." Oct. 16, 2018 tweet.
During a July 4, 2020 speech, Farrakhan not only repeated the same kind of antisemitic hatred quoted above, but he also asserted that COVID-19 positive tests are rising in Florida now because he personally instructed Allah to afflict Florida. Farrakhan said that he did this to punish Florida for the U.S. embargo against Cuba, and Farrakhan claimed that Cuban doctors have a cure for COVID-19 that the U.S. government is suppressing because the U.S. government is using COVID-19 to kill Black people. That speech is available on YouTube, in clear violation of YouTube's policies against disseminating hate speech.
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)
summarizes Farrakhan's views: "Louis Farrakhan heads the
Nation of Islam,
a group he has led since 1977 and that is based on a somewhat bizarre
and fundamentally anti-white theology. Farrakhan is an antisemite who
routinely accuses Jews of manipulating the U.S. government and
controlling the levers of world power."
The SPLC article about Farrakhan is worth reading in full. Here is an excerpt:
Farrakhan’s antisemitism has earned him some strange allies. Former Klan and White Aryan Resistance leader Tom Metzger
was so impressed with Farrakhan's anti-Semitic bombast that he donated
$100 to NOI after attending a Farrakhan rally in Los Angeles in
September 1985. Given that white supremacists share NOI’s belief in
separation of the races, a month later, Metzger and 200 other white
supremacists from the United States and Canada gathered on a farm about
50 miles west of Detroit, where they pledged their support for the
Nation of Islam.
Antisemitism is only one of Farrakhan's many prejudices. Over the
years, his comments have consistently been rabidly anti-gay. "God don't
like men coming to men with lust in their hearts like you should go to a
female," he told a Kansas City crowd in 1996. "If you think that the
kingdom of God is going to be filled up with that kind of degenerate
crap, you're out of your damn mind."
The SPLC
describes the Nation of Islam as a hate group: "Since its founding in 1930, the Nation of Islam (NOI) has grown into one
of the wealthiest and best-known organizations in black America. Its
theology of innate black superiority over whites and the deeply racist,
antisemitic and anti-LGBT rhetoric of its leaders have earned the NOI a
prominent position in the ranks of organized hate."
Therefore, Ice Cube, DeSean Jackson, Stephen Jackson, and others are publicly aligning themselves with a man whose statements and beliefs are unequivocally racist, antisemitic, homophobic, and anti-American (and sometimes just bizarre, such as his remarks about instructing Allah to afflict Florida with COVID-19).
Imagine if a prominent white entertainer, a white NFL player or a white retired NBA player stated that he supports David Duke or that David Duke speaks the truth or that David Duke is teaching him how to be a leader? Do you think that "Inside the NBA" would ignore that?
"Inside the NBA" is watched by millions of people, and the "Inside the NBA" crew is highly respected and influential. They missed a golden opportunity to educate their audience about these issues. Ray Allen would have been a perfect guest.
Allen has discussed how moving it was for him to visit the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. Speaking of the Holocaust Museum, New England Patriots' receiver Julian Edelman
provided a heartfelt response to DeSean Jackson: "How about we go to DC and I take you to the Holocaust Museum. And
you take me to the Museum of African American history and culture...And we have those uncomfortable conversations." It would have sent a wonderful and positive message if "Inside the NBA" had spoken truth to power, and had asked Allen to give his thoughts about Edelman's statement.
I have often criticized Mike Wilbon for his basketball analysis, but I will give him credit for addressing directly and unequivocally the comments made by Stephen Jackson. On "Pardon the Interruption" Wilbon declared, "This is not tolerable...It undermines everything Stephen Jackson said so eloquently on behalf of Black Lives Matter. He has no credibility now. He has undermined his own previous good work with this garbage. And it's garbage. I know Stephen Jackson. I like him. If I was sitting with him now--I have worked with him--I would say, 'Stephen, stop! You're wrong. You're not speaking any truth. You're going to have to become more familiar with the truth via history. Let's read some. We'll read it together. This is insane. You are ruining weeks of actually trying to appeal to people on one level and then bringing your own bigotry and prejudice in at a time when no one can afford to say that, to have that, to entertain it.'"
Wilbon is right. It is a shame that Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O'Neal did not step up and deliver a similar message. For that matter, where are NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell?
Louis Farrakhan has spent decades making it very clear who he is and what he believes. The time has past for the sports figures, celebrities, politicians, and public figures who have invoked his name to make it clear who they are and what they believe.
Labels: Charles Barkley, DeSean Jackson, Ernie Johnson, Ice Cube, Inside the NBA, Julian Edelman, Kenny Smith, Louis Farrakhan, Mike Wilbon, Ray Allen, Shaquille O'Neal, Stephen Jackson
posted by David Friedman @ 11:56 PM
