Bucks Rout Heat Despite Losing Giannis Antetokounmpo to a Knee Injury
The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Miami Heat 128-99, which is Milwaukee's largest margin of victory this season and Miami's worst margin of defeat. The Bucks are now riding a 13 game winning streak, the NBA's longest this season and the franchise's longest in the past 37 years. Jrue Holiday led six Milwaukee double figure scorers with 24 points, and he also posted a game-high seven assists. Jimmy Butler paced the Heat with 23 points on 8-10 field goal shooting. The Bucks won the rebounding battle 57-45 while holding the Heat to 36-92 field goal shooting (.391).
Giannis Antetokounmpo had four points, four rebounds, and four assists in just six minutes before leaving the game after suffering a right knee injury. The Bucks almost immediately announced that he would miss at least the rest of this game, which raises concerns about how serious the injury is and how long he will be out of action. Antetokounmpo has already missed 11 of Milwaukee's 59 games this season after missing 15 out of 82 games last season. A sprained right wrist forced him to leave early in Milwaukee's last game before the All-Star break and limited him to playing just the first possession in the All-Star Game. The Bucks are a good team even without Antetokounmpo, but they are not a championship contender unless they have their full roster, as we saw during last year's playoffs when they fell to Boston in seven games with Khris Middleton out of the lineup.
The Heat pride themselves on being a tough-minded and physical team, but they displayed neither of those traits against the Bucks even with Antetokounmpo sidelined and the Heat desperately needing to stack up wins to avoid having to participate in the Play-In Tournament.
Hubie Brown,
the best color commentator in pro basketball history, only does games
occasionally now--I think that his most recent game prior to tonight was
nearly a month ago when the 76ers overcame a 15 point deficit to beat the Nuggets--so
it was a special treat to watch and listen to him do this telecast.
Asked about the new look Lakers, Brown cautioned that it is important to
"see the consistency" and to see how the team performs on the road
before drawing any conclusions about how good the team is.
This game included the return of Meyers Leonard, who recently signed a 10 day contract with the Bucks. Leonard finished with five points and six rebounds. Leonard last played for the Heat before being fined and suspended by the NBA in 2021 after uttering an antisemitic slur during a live stream. He had not played in the NBA since that time, but he used that period productively by educating himself about the Jewish community and demonstrating genuine remorse for what he said.
In contrast to Leonard's repentant and positive behavior, Kyrie Irving was defiantly unrepentant about promoting a film filled with antisemitic tropes until the Brooklyn Nets suspended him, and Irving subsequently deleted his social media post apologizing for promoting antisemitism to his adoring group of followers who outnumber the Jewish population of the world (I mention that fact to note the outsize influence that Irving has and to emphasize how damaging it is when a person of his status promotes antisemitism). It is unfortunate that the NBA has been so quick to welcome Irving back into the fold despite his unrepentant antisemitism, but it is not surprising: Irving is a star player who generates a lot of revenue, it is obvious that antisemitism is not something that costs the NBA much revenue (if any), and if there is one thing that the NBA cares about it is profits.
Labels: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Hubie Brown, Kyrie Irving, Meyers Leonard, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks
posted by David Friedman @ 11:06 PM
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
