ESPN analyst JJ Redick does not believe Grizzlies star Ja Morant should receive a massive punishment for his recent off-court incident, in which he appeared to display a gun in an Instagram live video Saturday.
The situation comes after he was suspended for eight games in March for displaying a gun at a nightclub in Colorado. While Memphis has currently suspended Morant from team activities pending the league’s investigation into the issue, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski believes that the 23-year-old could face a “lengthy suspension” from the league this time around.
However, on an episode of ESPN’s First Take on Wednesday, Redick stated that Morant should not receive an extraordinary punishment for his behavior because he has not committed a crime.
“I’m not condoning the behavior,” Redick said. “I’m not saying there should be no punishment. There should be consequences. You are the face of the league. You are representing the NBA. You are a role model to young kids. All of that. I don’t think (getting suspended for) half the season is the right answer.”
JJ Redick asks “Why are we trying to lay down the hammer on a 23-year-old who didn’t break a law?” when there’s no consequence for Greg Abbott telling people to buy more guns pic.twitter.com/dUc8imA9dj
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 17, 2023
Redick also linked Morant’s situation to the behavior of some elected officials, such as Texas governor Greg Abbott, who regularly touts the purchase of guns despite a rash of mass shootings in his state in recent years.
“We’ve got mass shooting after mass shooting and nobody’s doing a damn thing about it, so I get why everyone is sensitive right now,” Redick said. “But there’s no consequence for this for Greg Abbott telling his constituents that they should go buy more guns, and then we have mass shooting after mass shooting in Texas. There’s no consequence for an elected Tennessee official to send out a Christmas card holding AR-15s with his young family, and then there’s a shooting in his very district.
“There’s no consequences to that, so why are we trying to lay down the hammer on a 23-year-old who didn’t break a law?! Explain that to me!”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver discussed Morant’s behavior ahead of the 2023 NBA draft lottery on Tuesday, expressing that he was “shocked” by the latest video—especially considering he met in person with Morant to discuss the player’s conduct in March.
