Grizzlies star Ja Morant will be away from the team for at least the next two games as the NBA investigates his recent social media activity, the team announced on Saturday.
Early Saturday morning, Morant went on his Instagram Live and appeared to brandish a gun in a nightclub just hours after scoring 27 points in the Grizzlies’ 113–97 loss at the Nuggets on Friday night.
The NBA released a statement earlier Saturday, announcing that it was investigating the situation.
“We are aware of a social media post involving Ja Morant and are investigating," said NBA spokesman Mike Bass.
Jim Tanner, Morant’s agent, released a statement on behalf of the Grizzlies’ star later Saturday evening, saying that Morant is taking “full responsibility” for his actions in the Instagram video.
“I’m sorry to my family, teammates, coaches, fans, partners, the city of Memphis and the entire Grizzlies’ organization for letting you down,” the statement read. “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.”
Prior to Morant’s controversial video on Saturday, the Memphis star had been in the headlines for negative reasons. On Wednesday afternoon, The Washington Post released a report about a series of incidents involving Morant, documenting allegations including police reports that the 23-year-old punched a 17-year-old in the head during a pickup basketball game last summer. The teenager told investigators that Morant then went into his house and later returned with his hand on a gun in his waistband, per the report.
The altercation reportedly took place four days after a security guard at a Memphis mall filed a police report, stating that Morant threatened him while one of Morant’s associates shoved him, though no arrests were made from the incident.
Morant is currently averaging 27 points, six rebounds and 8.2 assists per game this season. The Grizzlies (38–24) currently sit at No. 2 in the Western Conference, six games behind No. 1 seed Denver (45–19).
The Grizzlies’ next two games include road games against the Los Angeles-based teams. Memphis will face the Clippers on Sunday, followed by the Lakers on Tuesday.
