Entertainment

Ja Morant Suspended For 25 More Games After Second Gun Incident

Published

11 months ago

June 16, 2023

The NBA Suspends Ja Morant For 25 More Games Next Season Over Gun Incident

For the second time in a little more than two months, the NBA has suspended two-time Memphis Grizzlies All-Star Ja Morant over his brandishing a handgun during an Instagram Live video. The ban, this time, is for 25 games, the league announced Friday in a statement.

“Morant posed with a firearm in a car during a live-streamed video on May 13, less than two months after he was suspended eight games without pay for the live streaming of a video on March 4 in which he displayed a firearm while in an intoxicated state at a Denver area nightclub,” the NBA said in a statement.

The league office found that, on May 13, Morant intentionally and prominently displayed a gun while in a car with several other individuals as they were leaving a social gathering in Memphis.

The following has been released by the NBA. pic.twitter.com/dzDSb4uCk3

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) June 16, 2023

Morant wielded the firearm while knowing that he was being recorded and that the recording was being live-streamed on Instagram Live, despite having made commitments to the NBA and public statements that he would not repeat the conduct for which he was previously disciplined.

On May 16, Morant issued a statement taking full accountability for his actions. Morant again issued a statement after the latest suspension was announced, saying he will spend the “offseason and my suspension continuing to work on my own mental health and decision making.”

The Grizzlies said in a statement on Friday that they respect the league’s decision. “Our standards as a league and team are clear, and we expect that all team personnel will adhere to them,” the statement read.

The league said that Morant will be required to meet certain conditions before he returns to play and will be ineligible to participate in any public league or team activities, including preseason games, during the suspension.