The Memphis Grizzlies suspended Ja Morant “from all team activities” on Sunday. Check out his new gun video in this article.
Ja Morant : New gun video | Suspended again
Late in the 2021-22 season, just as Morant was becoming the NBA’s latest superstar, he got into a war of words on Twitter with somebody who appeared to be trolling him over a woman he was dating. Morant responded, in a now-deleted tweet, with the statement: “It’s free to see how hollow feels.”
According to Molly Hensley-Clancy of The Washington Post, the head of security at a Memphis mall filed a police report saying Morant “threatened” him during an altercation in the parking lot. The guard said that somebody with Morant shoved him in the head.
It was reported that Morant’s mother got into an altercation with a mall employee and called Morant who showed up with “a group of as many as nine other people.” No charges were filed in relation to the incident.
The gun videos are just the latest troubling incidents for Morant.
During an off-season pickup basketball game at Morant’s house last July, a 17-year-old accused Morant of attacking him after a verbal altercation, according to court records obtained by TMZ.
Ja Morant new gun videoÂ
The Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant has been “suspended from all team activities” after again appearing to hold a gun in a video on social media.
Morant, 23, appeared to briefly hold up a gun in a car with a friend in a live broadcast on Instagram on Saturday.
The All-Star guard was suspended for eight games without pay by the NBA in March after a video showed him holding a gun in a Colorado nightclub.
The NBA said it is looking into this second incident.
“We are aware of the social media post involving Ja Morant and are in the process of gathering more information,” said NBA spokesperson Mike Bass.
The Grizzlies said Morant’s suspension is “pending League review”.
After the incident in March, Morant apologised and said he took “full responsibility” for his actions.
He said he would “work on learning better methods of dealing with stress and my overall wellbeing” and that, after reflection, he realised “what I have to lose”.
Morant also underwent counselling while he was suspended.
Glendale Police Department investigated the nightclub incident but did not find enough evidence to charge anyone for a crime.
At the time, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Morant’s conduct was “irresponsible, reckless and potentially very dangerous” but added that Morant had “made it clear” that he had “learned from this incident”.
The Grizzlies were beaten by the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the play-offs last month.
Suspended again
Ja Morant was suspended by the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday after he appeared to be holding a gun in another social media video that was streamed live on Instagram, the latest in a series of concerning incidents involving the two-time All-Star guard.
It’s the second time in less than three months that Morant was seen on Instagram holding what appeared to be a weapon.
The first led to an eight-game NBA suspension that was handed down in March and cost Morant about US$669,000 in salary.
It’s unclear what sanctions Morant may face for the second video, which was captured Saturday night and widely shared online.
The video was streamed on the Instagram account of Morant associate Davonte Pack, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because neither the NBA nor the Grizzlies have commented on the specifics of the latest video.
The Grizzlies, whose season is over, said Morant is suspended from all team activities “pending league review.”
The video streamed by Pack shows Morant in the passenger seat of a vehicle, briefly appearing to display a handgun.
At the very brief moment — maybe less than a second — when Morant is shown holding what appears to be a weapon, the livestream had 111 viewers.
The video that got Morant suspended during the season happened when the Grizzlies star went live on his own Instagram account while holding a gun at a club in the Denver suburbs in early March.
After that went viral, Morant announced that he was taking time away from basketball to seek help, without specifying what sort of treatment he was getting. ESPN later reported that he was getting counseling in Florida, which the team eventually confirmed but did not share any details.