NBA superstar Ja Morant released a statement apologising for his actions to social media after he was reportedly suspended after posting a video on social media allegedly showing him flashing a gun while posing in a club on Friday night.
Morant is one of the rising stars in basketball but he has repeatedly hit headlines for the wrong reasons recently. The two-time All-Star was investigated by police for allegedly punching a teenager last summer while he celebrated teammate Desmond Bane’s three-pointer against the Houston Rockets by performing a gun celebration.
Ultimately, the Instagram clip is simply the latest in a wild run of alleged incidents as Morant appears to be desperately trying to derail his promising NBA career. In the clip - which was widely shared on social media - Morant is seen dancing topless in a strip club before he appears to lift a firearm to the side of his head.
The NBA confirmed they were investigating the video and the Grizzlies later released a statement declaring Morant would be absent for the next two matches against the Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers. On Saturday, the 23-year-old released a statement of his own which read: “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 organisation for letting you down. 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.”
The incident is the latest in a saga involving Morant. Back in September, the guard was sued for allegedly punching a teenager in the face during a pickup game, although he claims it was in self defence. The Washington Post revealed the 17-year-old victim told detectives from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office that Morant hit him ’12 to 13’ times’ while a member of his entourage struck him another ‘four to five times’.
Morant allegedly then went into his house and re-emerged with a gun, ensuring the weapon was visible in the waistband of his pants with one hand on it. The 17-year-old - who admitted he threw a basketball at Morant and ‘accidentally’ hit him in the face - was then reportedly punched in the head, leaving him with a ‘large knot’ according to the police report.
On Wednesday night, Morant's lawyer S. Kennan Carter and agent Jim Tanner released a statement to deny the allegations. Carter vehemently denied the allegations that Morant used a firearm to intimidate the victim, writing: “Any and every allegation involving a firearm has been fully investigated and could not be corroborated. This includes the NBA investigation last month, in which they found no evidence.
“The July 26th incident was purely self-defence. Again, after this was fully investigated by law enforcement, they came to the decision not to charge Ja with any crime. Any of the dozens of witnesses will confirm Ja acted in self-defence and that he did not have a firearm.”
Morant has a $200million contract with the Grizzlies alongside high-profile deals with Nike and Powerade. He is averaging 27.1 points per game in the 2022/23 NBA season to go with 8.2 assists.
He has led the 38-24 Grizzlies to second-place in the Western Conference, although they are six games behind the first seed Denver Nuggets after falling 113-97 to Nikola Jokic and co. on Friday. With Morant suspended, Memphis take on the Los Angeles Clippers in their next contest on Sunday night.
