Grizzlies suspend Ja Morant after another gun video appears online

Ja Morant wassuspended by the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday after he appeared tobe holding a gun in another social media video that was streamedlive on Instagram.

It’s thesecond time in less than three months that Morant was seen onInstagram holding what appeared to be a weapon. The first led toaneight-gameNBA suspensionthat was handed down in March and costMorant about $669,000 in salary.

It’s unclearwhat sanctions Morant may be facing for the second video, which waswidely shared online Sunday. An associate of Morant went live onInstagram while the All-Star was in the front seat of a vehiclewith another person, briefly appearing to display a handgun. It isunclear where or when the latest video was filmed.

“We are awareof the social media post involving Ja Morant and are in the processof gathering more information,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said.

The Grizzliessaid Morant is suspended from all team activities, “pending leaguereview.”

The gun videoearlier this season happened when Morant went live on his ownInstagram holding a gun at a club in the Denver suburbs in earlyMarch. After that went viral, Morant announced that he was takingtime away to seek help, without specifying what sort of treatmenthe was getting. ESPN later reported that he was getting counselingin Florida, something the team eventually confirmed but did notshare any other details.

“Ja’s conductwas irresponsible, reckless and potentially very dangerous,” NBACommissioner Adam Silver said in a statement in March after meetingwith Morant and deciding on the suspension’s length. “It also hasserious consequences given his enormous following and influence,particularly among young fans who look up to him.”

Morant satdown for an interview with ESPN during his suspension, takingresponsibility for the Colorado video.

“I don’tcondone any type of violence,” Morant told ESPN in March. “But Itake full responsibility for my actions. I made a bad mistake and Ican see the image that I painted over myself with my recentmistakes. But in the future, I’m going to show everybody who Jareally is, what I’m about and change this narrative.”

And when theseason ended a couple weeks ago, Morant said again that he neededto work on his decision-making.

“Beingdisciplined on both sides, off the court making better decisionsand on the court being locked in even more,” Morant said after aseason-ending loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. “Being a leader ofthis team, it pretty much starts with me. ... I’ve got to be betterin that area.”

Morant’sfive-year, $194 million max contract is set to begin this comingseason. It could have escalated to a supermax if he made All-NBAthis season; he was not voted onto that team, which cost him about$39 million in future earnings.

His talent onthe court is not a question. He averaged 27.4 points last season,26.2 points this season and helped Memphis secure the No. 2 seed inthe Western Conference playoffs.

But theGrizzlies’ season ended amid dysfunction. They were ousted in Round1 by the Lakers, getting eliminated in a 40-point loss to close aseries where trash-talking and antics became as much of a storylineas actual playing of basketball.

And theoffseason is now off to a less-than-ideal start as well, especiallyafter Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said following the playoffsthat the team has to eliminate “unnecessary drama, self-inflicteddecisions that take away from the team.”

“It has to becompletely different going into next year,” Jenkins said.

This will beat least the third known NBA investigation surrounding Morant andthe possible involvement of firearms so far in 2023.

Morant’sactions were investigated after a Jan. 29 incident in Memphis thathe said led to a friend of his being banned from home games for ayear.

That incidentfollowed a game against the Indiana Pacers; citing unnamed sources,The Indianapolis Star and USA Today reported that multiple membersof the Pacers saw a red dot pointed at them, and The Athleticreported that a Pacers security guard believed the laser wasattached 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. At 5:19 a.m.,Morant started a livestream from inside a strip club called ShotgunWillies in Glendale, Colorado.Nocharges were filedand police said there were no complaintcalls stemming from Morant holding the gun were made.

Morant and aclose friend also are involved in a civil lawsuit brought after anincident at Morant’s home last summer, in which a then-17-year-oldalleged that they assaulted him. Morant filed a countersuit onApril 12, accusing the teen of slander, battery and assault.