The Miami Heat said Tuesday night that Meyers Leonard will be away from the team indefinitely, sharply criticizing his use of an anti-Semitic slur while playing a video game that was being livestreamed.

Leonard apologized for using the term, insisting he did not know what it meant when he used it Monday. The Heat learned of the matter Tuesday, and Leonard’s future with the team is now in serious doubt.

The team also said it will cooperate with the NBA’s investigation.

Leonard acknowledged that he used the term Monday while streaming. In his apology, posted on social media, he said “my ignorance about its history and how offensive it is to the Jewish community is absolutely not an excuse and I was just wrong.”

Leonard also said he was apologizing to team managing general partner Micky Arison and his family, the team’s players, coaches and front office, his family and the Jewish community, among others.

The video began circulating widely on social media Tuesday afternoon and the fallout was almost immediate, first with online criticism and then sharp rebukes by the league, the Heat and even other organizations.

The NBA said it was “in the process of gathering more information.”

Leonard, a 7-foot center in his ninth NBA season out of Illinois, sustained a season-ending shoulder injury in January and appeared in only three games for the Heat this year. He could become a free agent this summer; the Heat hold a team option on him for next season worth about $10 million.

Most players and coaches chose to kneel last summer for the playing of the U.S. and Canadian national anthems when the NBA season resumed inside a bubble at Walt Disney World in Central Florida. Leonard stood instead, his hand over his heart, and did so with the support of Heat teammates.