The Memphis Grizzlies are a legitimate NBA title contender and the second-best team in the Western Conference.
But, today, all of that gets put on the back burner because of some off-court drama Ja Morant has gotten himself into. A new Washington Post story from earlier this week detailed multiple incidents where Morant was investigated by Memphis police for alleged acts of aggression.
One included a story from last summer when Morant allegedly punched and pulled a gun on a 17-year-old who he invited to his home to play in a pick-up game. The other involves an incident where Morant allegedly threatened a mall security guard.
The Grizzlies’ point guard hasn’t been charged on any of this alleged behavior, but none of it is a good look. And he’s also compounded all this drama with some absolutely confounding decisions in recent days. All of that has led to a brief suspension by the Grizzlies for their All-Star point guard.
We’ll dive into all of it here.
About the incident with the 17-year-old
Morant allegedly invited an unidentified 17-year-old local basketball player to his home to play in a pick-up game.
Things got a bit heated between the two as the teen guarded Morant. The two reportedly began to throw the basketball at one another until the ball hit Morant in the face.
Morant and a friend then reportedly began to beat the teen. Here’s more from the Post.
“Ja hit me like 12 to 13 times,” the boy said, adding that the friend struck him four or five times. When police asked the boy how hard the punches landed, he compared them to an MMA bout.
After the men were pulled off him, the boy told police, Morant went inside and the boy got up to leave. As the boy was going to his car, he said, Morant “came outside with his gun.” It was tucked into his pants, the boy said, and though he didn’t pull it out, the boy said he saw Morant put his hand on it.”
Morant reportedly claimed he acted in self-defense and thought the ball hitting him in the face was the first hit. He hasn’t been charged in the incident.
On the mall security incident
Morant also got caught up with a mall security guard after his mother had gotten into a verbal argument with an employee at a Finish Line.
She called Morant and he arrived to the scene with nine other people. Things went south from there, according to the Post‘s story.
“Confronted by the director of mall security, Morant and his friends refused the security guard’s demands to leave the mall parking lot. Police arrived and a “verbal confrontation” escalated, the report says, until someone in the group allegedly pushed the security director in the head.
“As the group was leaving the premises … Ja Morant said, ‘Let me find out what time he gets off,’ ” police wrote in the report.”
Morant wasn’t charged in this incident, either.
What's Morant's team saying?
Morant’s agent, Jim Tanner, and his lawyer, Keenan Carter, responded to the Post‘s reporting on the above altercations allegedly involving Morant.
Carter called the story a “blatant lie” and a “defamatory statement.” He continued: “To be clear — this did not happen and no one claims it did other than one irresponsible journalist.”
Tanner added a full statement claiming Morant acted in self defense and that any involvement of a firearm “could not be corroborated.”
Statements from Jim Tanner and Keenan Carter on today’s Washington Post reporting: pic.twitter.com/hTYz4rw8UA
— TANDEM (@_tandemse) March 1, 2023
Has anything else happened since?
There’s nothing to add to either story there, but Morant did appear to flash a gun in a club on Instagram Live on Friday after a game against the Denver Nuggets.
Grizzlies star Ja Morant was allegedly seen showing off a gun on his IG Live this morning.pic.twitter.com/HlhvoWlnYy
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) March 4, 2023
Obviously, Morant still hasn’t been charged with anything. And Tennessee is an open carry state — there’s nothing illegal about him having a firearm in this moment.
But none of it is really a good look for Morant considering the spotlight currently on him. There’s also that incident with the Indiana Pacers where someone in Morant’s camp allegedly trained a laser on the team bus from a slow-moving SUV.
So what happens next?
The Memphis Grizzlies have officially announced that Morant will be “away from the team” for at least the next two games.
Statement from the Memphis Grizzlies pic.twitter.com/CLB2TG5nnI
— Grizzlies PR (@GrizzliesPR) March 4, 2023
It’s unclear if this is an official suspension of if it’s just some sort of forced leave of absence, which is essentially the same thing. It’s also worth noting that this is from the Grizzlies — not the NBA.
As of Saturday morning, the NBA is investigating Morant Instagram Live from after the Nuggets game.
NBA spokesman Mike Bass: “We are aware of a social media post involving Ja Morant and are investigating.”
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 4, 2023
It’s unclear whether there could be more punishment on the way for Morant or if the league will just allow the Grizzlies to handle things from here. But, regardless, none of this is a good look for Morant.
Morant released a statement following the suspension
Here’s what the Grizzlies’ point guard had to say.
Statement from Ja Morant:
“I take full responsibility for my actions last night. I’m sorry to my family, teammates, coaches, fans, partners, the city of Memphis and the entire Grizzlies organization for letting you down….”
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 4, 2023
More Morant: “I’m going to take some time away to get help and work on learning better methods of dealing with stress and my overall well-being.” https://t.co/vRhBk1qgOU
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 4, 2023
“I take full responsiblity for my actions last night. I’m sorry to my family, teammates, coaches, fans, partners, the city of Memphis and the entire Grizzlies organization for letting you down. I’m going to take some time away to get help and work on better methods of dealing with my stress and my overall well-being.”
Hopefully, Ja comes back better from this.
