Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant was suspended on Sunday after an Instagram Live video showed him with what appeared to be a handgun, the team said in a brief statement.
“We are aware of the social media video involving Ja Morant,” the team wrote. “He is suspended from all team activities pending League review. We have no further comment at this time.”
The video shows the NBA star and another person listening to the new NBA YoungBoy album in a car. For just a brief moment, Morant is seen holding up something that looks very much like a firearm, according to TMZ.
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The suspension comes two months after Morant, 23, got an eight-game suspension for being caught on video brandishing a gun at a Denver nightclub in March.
Morant got an eight-game suspension in the Denver incident; no charges were filed in that case, and Morant said the gun was not his. At the time, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver called Morant’s behavior “irresponsible, reckless and potentially very dangerous.” “It also has serious consequences given his enormous following and influence, particularly among young fans who look up to him,” Silver said in the March statement.
At that time, Morant sounded remorseful.
“The gun wasn’t mine,” he said. “It’s not who I am. I don’t condone any type of violence, but I take full responsibility for my actions. I’ve made a bad mistake. I can see the image that I’ve painted over myself with my recent mistakes. In the future I’m gonna show everybody who Ja really is, what I’m about and change this narrative.”
Morant—was was accused by a teen earlier this year of punching him and of flashing a gun after a pick-up basketball game last year—has not publicly commented on the latest video and suspension.
Read it at TMZ
