An emotional Meyers Leonard explains what 9/11 means to him, gets surprise on national TV
Meyers Leonard received a surprise on national television late Friday night.
During an appearance on TNT’s “Inside the NBA” to discuss what Sept. 11 means to him, the Miami Heat center was caught off guard when his older brother, Bailey, joined the show. Bailey served two tours in Afghanistan with the U.S. Marines.
Leonard tweeted earlier in the day: “My brother joined the @USMC because of 9/11. When he left for the first time, I remember feeling scared & lost because he was like a father figure to me. Our father’s birthday was 9/11. He passed when I was 6. This day is never easy. God Bless America.”
When Bailey joined the show via video from his home in Illinois, Leonard immediately grew emotional.
“Obviously, this day for me is very emotional. It just hits me in a different way,” Leonard said during his appearance on “Inside the NBA.” “Also, it’s a very tragic day in the United States’ history. So many innocent lives were lost. It also took us to war. But like you said and as I mentioned in that tweet, my brother joined the United States Marine Corps because of 9/11. My deep connection to the military because of my brother and for many others who I’m very close with is why this day means so much to me. As the Miami Heat tweeted, we should always continue to honor those people and the first responders, and everyone involved because there are many, many families who are still mourning the losses of their loved ones. That’s why this day is often very, very difficult for me and also it’s my father’s birthday, who passed when I was young. But we stay strong, we continue to move forward.”
Leonard then spoke about his decision to stand for the national anthem before games at Disney. The rest of his Heat teammates and players around the NBA have knelt during the anthem as a form of protest against systemic racism, social injustice and police brutality since the season resumed July 30.
“Leading up to my decision to stand for the anthem caused a lot of heartache because I know what the military means to me and what my brother means to me,” Leonard said on TNT. ”The fact that he put his life on the line, two tours in Afghanistan. So I spoke with many teammates, I spoke with the Miami Heat organization, I spoke to the people who I’m close with, and many, many members of the military, obviously including my brother. It wasn’t an easy decision because I truly do understand and see what is going on in America right now. It’s sad and it’s wrong, and I truly do live my life to respect others and love everyone. That’s how I was raised. That’s who I am.
“Having been around African-American culture for many, many years because of the AAU circuit, all the way through high school, into college, and now the NBA, I’ve seen teammates be impacted by this. I’ve seen their families be impacted by these things. It hurts me. But at the same time, I tend to base my decisions on real life experience. The real and raw emotion that I feel when I hear that anthem and I think about my brother Bailey sending me photos back home when he was away and not knowing always how he was doing, that is raw emotion to me. I’m sure that’s the same way that many of my teammates and their families and many people around this country feel when there are hateful acts happening to their people. So that’s why I felt the need to explain myself and I feel as though I did. But also I will continue to use my platform to bring awareness to these situations because I truly know that silence is compliance, and I need to speak up. I need to be a powerful voice behind this movement.”
Leonard and his wife, Elle, donated $100,000 “to the City of Miami, to Liberty City and Overtown, because they were slammed by voter suppression and COVID.”
The Heat opens the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday against the Boston Celtics.
