De'Aaron Fox was asked about Miami Heat center Meyers Leonard and his use of an anti-Semitic slur during a live-stream game of Call of Duty earlier in the week.
Following the Kings win over the Houston Rockets on Thursday night, Fox, a renowned gamer himself, didn't mince words when it came to Leonard and his comments.
"For one, I wouldn't say that s--t on stream, that's dumb as s--t," Fox said.
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Fox went on to explain that he has been playing Call of Duty since he was 10 years old and the trash-talking often gets out of hand. As for the word that Leonard used, Fox didn't even know its meaning.
"It's a slur and things like that, but I didn't even know what it meant," Fox explained. "Me and my fiancé were like, yo, let's look it up. I have no idea what this means. But after finding out that it's a slur and things like that, those lobbies get like that all the time."
Leonard, who was already out for the season after undergoing left shoulder surgery, was fined $50,000 by the NBA for his comments and the Heat suspended him from the team's facility for a week.
NBA
“Meyers Leonard’s comment was inexcusable and hurtful and such an offensive term has no place in the NBA or in our society," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a release. "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.”
The 29-year-old free agent to be might have a difficult time finding work this summer when he hits the free-agent market. Leonard has since apologized for his actions.
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