The Ignorance of Anti-Semitism
By: Ben Holcman
As someone born in Miami, I have been a superfan of the Miami Heat I have been a superfan of the Miami Heat for as long as I can remember. I can still remember running around my house like a madman when the Heat defeated the Thunder to win their second championship. I can remember being in my Jewish summer camp, receiving the letter from my mom telling me about Ray Allen’s three-pointer. I can remember the sadness that hung around my camp when Dwyane Wade left for Chicago, and I remember the elation that struck my high school when he returned. I have been a proud and dedicated Heat fan for the past seventeen years of my life.
However, the team that I was most proud of was the 2019-2020 Miami Heat. This was the first year when I truly felt such an intense, personal connection to the team. This team embodied the idea of “Heat Culture”; a tough, no-nonsense group of ballplayers that just kept winning. I have never been prouder to be a Heat fan as when this team rolled all the way to the Finals. Even when they lost, I wept tears of joy, knowing how much this team meant for the city of Miami.
One of my favorite players on this team was a man by the name of Meyers Leonard. When he arrived from Portland, I first saw the move as just a veteran on a big, expiring contract that could be moved on for some assets later on or ride the bench and play in garbage time. However, as the season progressed, I was pleasantly surprised to see his name shoot up the team sheet, starting most games before the bubble that season. His ability to stretch the floor and overall versatility on both ends of the court was one of the many understated pieces that led to the Heat’s success that season.
I have remained a proud Heat fan throughout this tough and somewhat disappointing season, I’ve been skeptical of the team at times, sure, but that’s normal for a fan of any team. When the news broke that Meyers Leonard had injured his shoulder, I was somewhat distraught. He was one of the most passionate members of the roster, and without that boost off of the bench, the spirit of the team would go down. Thankfully, before the All-Star Break, everything seemed to level itself out, and the Heat clawed their way back to 18-18.
I had high hopes for this team; I really did. I thought that we could use the All-Star break, since Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo were snubbed from the All-Star Game to rest up and get ready for the second half of the season. I figured that during this time, I should keep my notifications from Twitter on, just to make sure that I don’t miss any breaking news of a trade or a signing that the Heat make.
The ninth of March was not a day that seemed out of the ordinary. I had stayed home from school due to an illness, and during the day, I was nursing a purple Powerade and listening to “Leave the Door Open” by Silk Sonic on repeat. However, around one in the afternoon, my phone started to buzz repeatedly. I glimpsed over, and it was a Twitter notification reading, “Meyers Leonard utters anti-Jewish slur during video-game play”. I could not believe my eyes. I immediately denied the validity of this statement. However, I then viewed the video, and my jaw dropped. I was both shocked and stunned.
To remind any reader of what the situation was, Meyers had complained about “cowards” trying to snipe him in a first-person shooter. He then pauses for a second or two and confidently proclaims,“you fucking…k**e bitch!”. He then carries on playing whatever game he was playing until he takes a phone call, supposedly from his wife, and promptly concludes his stream there. I played that footage constantly for the next five minutes, all whilst my dismay grew.
Feelings of frustration and anger ran rampant through my mind. This incident transported me back to the events that occurred over the summer when Eagles player, DeSean Jackson, posted a photo of a quote attributed to Adolf Hitler that smeared the Jewish people. This reminder of the incident that occurred over the summer made me realize that this level of anti-Semitism has been tolerated not only in sports, but in pop culture for way too long. It was just three years ago when LeBron James, one of the greatest basketball players ever, was let off the hook with no punishment after he quoted a rap lyric that went “We been getting that Jewish money, everything is Kosher”. Jewish wide-receiver Julian Edelman has admitted that he has been called a k**e on the field multiple times. Multiple people have accused the likes of Roger Waters, Henry Ford, and Walt Disney of being anti-Semites. Hell, Mel Gibson was recorded spewing anti-Semitic rhetoric during his DUI in 2006, and even Winona Ryder has accused him of being anti-Semitic. Yet, he is still making blockbuster movies. Coco Chanel was outed as an undercover agent for the NAZIS all the way back in 1944. Despite all of this, Chanel is currently valued at 13.7 BILLION dollars.
It has become a sad world for Jewish people knowing anti-Semitism is all around us. I do not have to remind the reader of the “Jewish Space Laser” comments from Marjorie Taylor Greene, a fucking CONGRESSWOMAN. As I have matured, I realized that the little bubble I live in, where Judaism surrounds me, is a rarity in the real world, and Meyer’s comments are a scary and saddening reminder of that.
With all of that being said, this incident with Meyers Leonard hit extremely close to home, not only as a Jewish Heat fan, but also as a Jewish man. This was not something that “just slipped out.” He paused, thought about what he was going to say, and probably chose the worst possible outcome. To anyone defending him, saying that “it was in the heat of the moment” and “if you are offended by this, you’ve never played video games”, fuck you. I have been frustrated when I have played video games, but I have never turned to one of my friends and screamed bigoted slurs in their faces when I beat them in Madden. I felt like a fool when I defended the Heat for resigning Meyers Leonard. I am ashamed I ever cheered for this man. The disappointment I feel is worse than losing any game or any beloved player leaving.
I cannot even imagine what was going through his head. He just bought a nine-million-dollar mansion in Miami and openly stated his intention to remain in Miami for years to come. According to the Jewish Virtual Library, there are 657,095 Jewish people in Florida, and according to the Berman Jewish Databank, there were 123,200 Jewish people in Miami in 2014. The owner of the Miami Heat, Micky Arison, is not only Jewish but Israeli, with his family having ties to Israel for over 100 years. The Heat even hosts an annual Jewish Heritage Night during Hanukkah, where they light the Chanukiah and pray. Yet, even with all of this, he still said k**e.
Sadly, if I were of legal age to bet, I would guess that this would lead to a slap on the wrist, if anything, at that. “But the owner is Jewish, and there are a lot of Jewish supporters of the Miami Heat.” So what? Remember the DeSean Jackson incident? The owner of the Eagles, Jeffrey Lurie, who is Jewish, might I add, did not even specify what punishment Jackson received. No suspension, no fine, nothing at all. As of this writing, the NBA and Miami Heat are “reviewing the video.” WHAT IS THERE TO REVIEW? HE SAID K**E RIGHT OFF THE BAT! I DON’T NEED TO HEAR ANOTHER PRE-WRITTEN GROVEL CONSISTING OF DIFFERENT SAYINGS SUCH AS “this has no place in modern society,” “this is not who I am,” “I have Jewish friends,” “there is no excuse, and I am ashamed.” How many times have we been offered this as our only sense of closure when it comes to these incidents?
Well, funnily enough, as I was re-reading this essay, Meyers Leonard took to his social media accounts to express himself in a very “written by my agent” way. Sadly, we can add one more instance of hollow, cut-and-paste apology to the ever-growing list. Look, I’ll spare you the details because it’s the same apology we’ve seen. However, I will say this; if you are well and truly committed to educating yourself and becoming an activist, I want to see it. I want to see you take classes about Jewish history. I want to see you understand the weight of the word that you have used. I want to see you speak up about anti-Semitism in the community you live in and all around the world. You might think to yourself, “well, jeez, that’s a lot of work.” Well, to put it simply, that’s just too damn bad. YOU put this on yourself, YOU made your bed, now YOU have to lie in it.
Some people might say “well, you can’t just cut someone from a team, it would ruin their livelihood.” Really? Tell that to the six million Jewish people whose livelihoods were ended during the Holocaust, the sixty-thousand victims of the Pogroms, the thirty-two thousand that died during the Spanish Inquisition, and the millions of Jewish people whose livelihoods have been turned upside down just because of their religion.
Anti-Semitism is one of the many unspoken discriminations in the United States. I am lucky to have been born in a position where I did not have to face it; where Judaism blanketed the world around me, shielding me from any anti-Semitic attacks. I have been blessed to grow up in a family that did not tolerate any discrimination, teaching me that there are words and phrases that you just do not use. However, I worry that this sort of rhetoric, whilst blasphemous, will be pervasive and become normalized throughout the United States, as cases of anti-Semitic incidents have risen. I pray that goodness prevails and minorities in America can live happily ever after, but I know that is not the case. If this Meyers Leonard incident taught me one thing, it has made me realize that I need to stick up for Jewish people and that the Jewish population all around the world needs more leaders to support and not just stand against, but actively fight anti-Semitism wherever it is present. Until the Jewish people see this sort of support, anti-Semitism will continue to plague the Jewish community.