Police reportedly performed a welfare check on underfire NBA ace Ja Morant following concerning Instagram posts on Wednesday.
That's according to TMZ, which claims that police went to Memphis Grizzlies point guard Morant's home in Tennessee, where they found the NBA star was not in any danger. In a series of Instagram story uploads, Morant posted loving messages to his mum, dad, and daughter Kaari before signing off with "bye".
Morant is reported to have told police during the welfare check that he was "taking a break from social media". The 23-year-old found himself in a spot of more bother following a video of himself brandishing a firearm in a car alongside friends.
It happened to be the second time in recent months that Morant was caught showing off a gun. Morant was suspended for eight games by the NBA in March after appearing in an Instagram Live video holding a gun in a Colorado nightclub.
And his antics resulted in another suspension, this time by the Grizzlies, and the story gained national attention. “I know I’ve disappointed a lot of people who have supported me," Morant said in a statement. "This is a journey and I recognize there is more work to do. My words may not mean much right now, but I take full accountability for my actions. I’m committed to continuing to work on myself.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver spoke bluntly when it comes to Ja Morant's immediate future in the league when addressing the second incident. An investigation into the matter is still ongoing, with Silver revealing his disappointment in the Memphis star. "Honestly, I was shocked when I saw this weekend that video," Silver said at the time.
"Now we're in the process of investigating it and we'll figure out exactly what happened the best we can and again, the video is a bit grainy and all that, but I'm assuming the worst. But we'll figure out exactly what happened there."
Morant signed a five-year $193million (£155m) contract last year and has big-money endorsement deals with Nike and Powerade. Silver added that Morant undoubtedly has an army of young fans who may see his pistol-waving behaviour positively. "And also the acknowledgement that as you said, he's a star, he has an incredibly huge following," Silver said.
"And that my concern and I thought he shared with me, that millions - if not tens of millions of kids, globally would see him as having done something that was celebrating in a way. That act of using a firearm in that fashion."
