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If you have any reservations about the sincerity of Meyers Leonard’s apology, try to imagine getting emotional in front of a group of pre-teen boys, arguably the most ruthless faction on the planet.
The 29-year-old Heat center is three months removed from using an anti-semetic slur in a Twitch stream, subsequently being fined $50,000, suspended for one week, and losing a slew of gaming sponsorships including ORIGIN PC, Astro Gaming, FaZe Clan, Scuf Gaming.
Leonard attended a Boca Raton Synagogue over the weekend, helmed by Rabbi Efrem Goldberg, who could not speak more glowingly about Leonard’s commitment to betterment and remorse for his mistake. Rabbi Goldberg revealed that Meyers has been meeting with Holocaust survivors and reading books about Jewish history, going as far to call him a “great friend of the Jewish community.”
After the introduction, the former 11th overall pick took the mic and was almost immediately overcome with emotion while addressing the audience of children. You cannot fake this.
“I’ve had a lot of really good moments and some pretty dark emotional moments but I just like to say, again, I’m so, so thankful for the people in the Jewish community whether it’s a little kid, a teenager, a high schooler or a rabbi.” “I’ve just been very educated, I’ve had so many events away from the public eye that have just uplifted not only myself, my wife and our immediate family but my friends. I just learned so much and I’m so thankful through a very dark moment. Sometimes people say God works in mysterious ways.” [via TMZ]