Ja Morant Denies Gun in Bizarre Nightclub Video Was His

NBA star Ja Morant, who flashed a handgun on an Instagram Live while partying at a strip club earlier this month, will have to miss just three more games over the “irresponsible, reckless, and potentially very dangerous” ordeal, the NBA announced Wednesday. Morant, 23, was issued an 8-game suspension that includes the five games he missed after the league launched an investigation into his antics on March 4—making him eligible to return to the court as early as Monday. Morant, who wasn’t charged with a crime, has since apologized and sought treatment at a counseling program in Florida. In an interview with ESPN’s Jalen Rose on Wednesday evening, Morant claimed that the firearm in the video “wasn’t mine,” but did not explain whose it was or how he ended up with it. “It’s not who I am,” he said of the matter. “I don’t condone it or any type of violence, but I take full responsibility from my actions. I made a bad mistake... But in the future, I’m gonna show everybody who Ja really is, what I’m about, and change this narrative that everybody got.”