Reports are surfacing that Memphis Grizzlies basketball star, Ja Morant was recently seen on IG LIve holding another gun. This is important due to what Morant faced earlier this year while in a nightclub in Glendale, Colorado following a game between the Grizzlies and the Denver Nuggets.
His first case came while the NBA season was still in progress and was suspended for 8 games and sought treatment to deal with off-the-court issues. He would return to the team where they would be eliminated by the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs and many believed that the incident was behind him. But not so fast.
JaMorant pic.twitter.com/XqJFwEOHTj
— James Burnes (@JamesBurnes8) May 14, 2023
As of today, the Memphis Grizzlies have issued a statement saying that Morant is suspended from all team activities. This is serious. While there are a handful of people stating that Morant is not a felon and has the right to carry a gun, that’s just not the case here. He is still employed by the NBA and Memphis Grizzles and that was the issue in the first place.
Statement from the Memphis Grizzlies pic.twitter.com/XXLjr6QtlG
— Grizzlies PR (@GrizzliesPR) May 14, 2023
Morant is looked upon as a role model to younger kids and this does not help with the image we’re trying to place out there to our youth. Black kids are dying at the hands of guns at an alarming rate and here is a star and public figure on Instagram just waving a gun around as if it’s a Nerf Football. When will Ja begin to take his actions seriously?
If this was his first time, this would be understood but this is the second time. While everyone is trying to figure out if this video is old or new, the truth is, does it really matter? If it’s old, then this shows a pattern. If it’s new then that means that Morant did not learn his lesson the first time around. This is a serious problem.
Now, what you can see in the video is that as soon as Ja puts the gun in clear view of the camera, his friend who is driving and recording tries to turn the camera away from Ja. That shows that his friend is aware of the situation at hand and tried to protect Morant. But where is that same thought process from Morant?
Following the first incident, Morant said all the right things and vowed to change. At what point do we start to hold these players accountable for their actions and not look the other way? While all the facts are not known, the video does not lie. Ja Morant is indeed holding a gun. What should his punishment be, if any?
