Ja Morant takes accountability after holding gun in another video
Ja Morantspoke out Tuesday night abouthislatest troubles, three days after the Memphis guard apparentlyheld a firearm again while being broadcast on social mediaandwassuspended by the Grizzliesfrom all team activities.
He’s alsobeing investigated by the NBA for his actions, two months after theleaguesuspendedhim for essentially the same thing— displaying a gun onsocial media.
“I know I’vedisappointed a lot of people who have supported me,” Morant said ina statement released Tuesday night by his representatives. “This isa journey and I recognize there is more work to do. My words maynot mean much right now, but I take full accountability for myactions. I’m committed to continuing to work on myself.”
His commentscame a few hours after NBA Commissioner Adam Silver expresseddisappointment over the situation. Silver handed down an eight-gamesuspension in March; there is no way of knowing yet what penaltiesMorant may face this time.
“Honestly, Iwas shocked when I saw, this weekend, that video,” Silver said in atelevised interview with ESPN before the draft lottery in Chicago.“We’re in the process of investigating it and we’ll figure outexactly what happened as best as we can. The video’s a bit grainyand all that, but I’m assuming the worst. We’ll figure out exactlywhat happened there.”
The firstvideo, which cost Morant about $669,000 in forfeited salary, cameout in March. The second was captured Saturday night and widelyshared online. It was streamed on the Instagram account of Morantassociate Davonte Pack, a person familiar with the situation toldThe Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity becausethe Grizzlies have not commented on the specifics of the latestvideo.
The videostreamed by Pack shows Morant briefly appearing to display ahandgun. At the very brief moment — maybe less than a second — whenMorant is shown holding what appears to be a weapon as he sits inthe passenger seat of a vehicle, the livestream had 111viewers.
“He couldhave injured, maimed, killed himself, someone else, with an actlike that,” Silver said. “And also the acknowledgement that he’s astar. He has an incredibly huge following. And my concern — and Ithought he shared with me — that millions if not tens of millionsof kids globally would see him as having done something that wascelebrating in a way that act of using a firearm in thatfashion.”
Morant saidin March that he needed to work on himself, and when the seasonended a couple weeks ago, he offered similar thoughts.
“Beingdisciplined on both sides, off the court making better decisionsand on the court being locked in even more,” Morant said. “Being aleader of this team, it pretty much starts with me. ... I’ve got tobe better in that area.”
Morant’sfive-year, $194 million max contract is set to begin this comingseason. He has deals with Nike and Powerade, though the sportsdrink company pulled an ad featuring Morant almost immediatelyafter the March video emerged.
This is thethird known NBA investigation surrounding Morant and the possibleinvolvement of firearms so far in 2023.
Morant’sactions were investigated after a Jan. 29 incident in Memphis thathe said led to Pack banned from Grizzlies’ home games for a year.That incident followed a game against the Indiana Pacers; citingunnamed sources, The Indianapolis Star and USA Today reported thatmultiple members of the Pacers saw a red dot pointed at them whilethey were near the loading dock where their bus was located, andThe Athletic reported that a Pacers security guard believed thelaser was attached to a gun.
The NBAconfirmed that unnamed individuals were banned from the arena butsaid its investigation found no evidence that anyone was threatenedwith a weapon.
Then came theDenver-area incident in the early hours of March 4, after theGrizzlies played a road game against the Nuggets when Morantstarted a livestream from inside a strip club while holding a gun.No charges were filed.
Morant andPack also are involved in a civil lawsuit brought after an incidentat Morant’s home last summer, in which a then-17-year-old allegedthat they assaulted him. Morant filed a countersuit on April 12,accusing the teen of slander, battery and assault.
Link to this article:https://www.brazilv.com/post/1053.html