Comedian Jon Stewart weighs the controversy caused by Miami Heat center Meyers Leonard, who was caught on tape Tuesday while uttering an anti-Semitic slap while playing a video game.
Here’s what Leonard said during the livestream according to ESPN:
“F — ing cowards; do not snip me, you k — b —-. ”
Leonard has since apologized and is away from the team indefinitely while the NBA investigates.
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Julian Edelman, a broad receiver for the New England Patriots, posted an open letter to Leonard on Twitter on Wednesday. The 34-year-old Edelman was the first Jewish player to win Super Bowl MVP after the Patriots’ 13-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII.
An open letter to Meyers Leonard:
So we’ve never met, I hope we can one day soon. I’m sure you got a lot of criticism for what you said. If I am not trying to contribute to it, I just want to offer perspective.
I have the feeling that you did not use the word out of hatred, more out of ignorance. Most likely you did not try to hurt anyone in your comment or even profile Jews. This is what makes it so destructive. If someone intends to be hateful, it is usually shown with great resistance. Comfortable ignorance is harder to combat and has a great reach, especially if you have a great deal of influence.
Hate is like a virus. Even by accident, it can spread quickly.
I’m pretty regular in Miami. Let’s have a Shabbat meal with friends. I’m showing you a fun time.
On Wednesday on Twitter, Stewart, the former Daily Show presenter who grew up in Lawrenceville and owns Colts Neck’s Hockhockson Farm, gave Edelman two thumbs up by posting just three words:
“Julian Edelman … man.”
Man is the Yiddish word for “a good man”.
It is noteworthy that this is not the first time that Edelman has played the role of Jewish ambassador to athletes.
Last year, he invited former Philadelphia Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, after Jackson wrote an anti-Semitic message on social media.
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