Ja Morant has been suspended by the Memphis Grizzlies from all team activities after a video of the star guard brandishing a gun started going viral on social media on Saturday night.
Two months after the NBA penalized Morant for a comparable incident, the Grizzlies made the punishment public in a statement on Sunday. The penalty is subject to a league review. The group made no additional comments.
“We are aware of the social media post involving Ja Morant and are in the process of gathering more information,” NBA spokesperson Mike Bass said in a statement Sunday.
On Saturday, during an Instagram Live session on Morant’s friend Davonte Pack’s account, the All-Star flashed a handgun while riding in the passenger seat of a car and singing along with a rap song. The video has since been deleted.
Morant left the Grizzlies and entered a counseling program in March after a video showed him holding a gun while intoxicated at a Denver club when the Grizzlies were in town to play the Nuggets. He was eventually suspended eight games after meeting with NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who called Morant’s conduct “irresponsible, reckless and potentially very dangerous.”
Morant said in an interview with ESPN at the time of the suspension that he understands “what I have to lose” and that he will work to be “more responsible, more intelligent, and staying away from all the bad decisions.”
Over the past year, Morant has been a part of a number of off-court confrontations. After a confrontation during a pickup game in Morant’s backyard, when Morant and Pack are believed to have punched the child in the head, he is being sued by a high school prospect. The adolescent informed police that following the altercation, Morant went inside his home and later emerged from it carrying a revolver.
After a postgame altercation with the Pacers’ traveling party, Pack was prohibited from attending games at Memphis’ FedExForum. After stepping onto the court during the game to confront Pacers players, Pack was led from his courtside position.
A red laser was pointed from an SUV that Morant was riding in following a dispute between his associates and the Pacers’ traveling party in the arena’s loading dock area following the game. Investigation by the NBA “could not corroborate that any individual threatened others with a weapon.”
After the Grizzlies were eliminated from the playoffs in the first round, Morant declared he needed to exercise greater restraint.
“I’ve just got to be better with my decision-making,” he said after a 125-85 loss to the Lakers on April 28. “That’s pretty much it. Off-the-court issues affected us as an organization pretty much. Just [need] more discipline.”
Ja Morant soon as The Grizzlies got bounced out the playoffs 😭 pic.twitter.com/ovuWwN0Tty
— God Chose Me. (@kingjames860) May 14, 2023
