After former Miami Heat player Meyers Leonard uttered an antisemitic slur on a gaming live stream, he took responsibility and worked with Chabad Rabbis to learn about the hurt such words can cause. Last year, Rabbi Pinny Andruisier introduced him to South Florida Jewish community members and invited him to distribute Matzos and meals to holocaust survivors away from the cameras. 

Last week Leonard visited his alma mater at the University of Illinois. He stopped by Illini Chabad, where he hosted an event with Rabbi Dovid Tiechtel billed as “Hate, Antisemitism & Forgiveness.” “Students shared personal stories with antisemitism on campus, and Meyers listened,” Rabbi Tiechtel said. “Leviticus teaches to ‘Love your neighbor as yourself;’ when we err, wouldn’t we want our neighbors to help us return to the right path?”