NBA Superstar Suspended After Gun Incident Posted on Instagram
One of the brightest young stars in the NBA has been suspended.
NBA reporter Shams Charania broke the news on Saturday that Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies had been suspended for at least two games.
The Grizzlies have since confirmed the suspension, albeit without calling it one.
“The Memphis Grizzlies announced today that Ja Morant will be away from the team for at least the next two games,” the team’s PR department said in a statement. The Grizzlies’ next two games are on the road against the Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers.
Morant, 23, drew the ire of the league after he posted a video of himself to Instagram that showed him flashing a handgun at a nightclub.
WARNING: The following video contains images and language some viewers will find offensive.
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
Morant’s social media snafu is just one example of the burgeoning behavioral issues that are starting to plague one of the NBA’s best players.
The talented young guard has had multiple issues crop up recently — and none paint him in a particularly favorable light.
The Washington Post detailed a pair of sordid incidents involving Morant from last summer.
In one, a security guard filed a police report accusing Morant of threatening him during a confrontation in a mall parking lot.
In the other, a 17-year-old alleged that Morant threatened him with a gun after repeatedly punching him in the head during a pickup basketball game.
Finally, The Athletic reported that associates of Morant “aggressively confronted” members of the Indiana Pacers staff after a game in January. “Later someone in a slow-moving SUV — which Morant was riding in — trained a red laser on them,” the outlet reported.
Individually, perhaps you could chalk up any of these incidents as a matter of Morant needing to grow up.
Taken together, however, it becomes a little clearer why he was suspended over the Instagram video.
The situation has gotten worrisome enough that even Jemele Hill, a well-chronicled race-baiter, essentially told Morant he needs to quit the antics.
“It doesn’t matter where Ja Morant is from or how he grew up,” Hill said on Twitter. “He’s making truly catastrophic decisions.”
It doesn’t matter where Ja Morant is from or how he grew up, he’s making truly catastrophic decisions.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) March 4, 2023
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