NBA superstar, Ja Morant, was suspended in March after brandishing a gun during an Instagram live-stream and now he’s been suspended AGAIN for sillily doing the same on Saturday.
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In a 30-second clip, Ja can be seen in the passenger’s seat of a car, dancing and rapping the words to “1.5” by NBA YoungBoy, while his friends do the same.
The man in the driver’s seat (@_dtpap2) makes the gun symbol with his fingers then looks over and smiles at Ja before panning the camera in his direction, revealing the Memphis Grizzlies player holding an actual gun.
Seemingly realizing his mistake, the man immediately lowers the camera and after a few seconds pass, Ja re-emerges without the weapon and without the hyped energy he held moments before.
The point guard can only be seen holding the gun for a half-second but observant viewers didn’t miss the exceptional athlete’s foolish mistake—-and neither did the NBA.
The Grizzlies announced on Sunday that Ja has been suspended from all activities.
“We are aware of the social media video involving Ja Morant. He is suspended from all team activities pending League review. We have no further comment at this time,” wrote the team on social media.
As news of Ja’s actions surfaced, Twitter let their disappointment and vitriol flow.
Some Tweeters did come to his defense, however.
“If the gun is legal and his, he can do w.e. he wants with it as long as he isn’t shooting anybody imo. I don’t see anything wrong with this video at all,” wrote a Ja Morant supporter.
As previously reported the first incident involving Ja resulted in his suspension for two games without pay after the NBA All-Star flashed a gun inside a Denver strip club.
Following a meeting with Commissioner Adam Silver, the NBA declared Ja was suspended “for conduct detrimental to the league” and the league declared it “did not conclude that the gun at issue belonged to Morant, was brought by him into the nightclub or was displayed by him beyond a brief period.”
The South Carolina native was not charged by the Glendale (Colorado) Police Department who investigated the March incident and was quickly enrolled in a counseling program in Florida before eventually returning to the hardwood.
The NBA player has been linked to several violent events outside of basketball, including threatening the head of security at a mall and punching a 17-year-old boy in the head multiple times before retrieving his gun — Ja claimed self-defense claiming the boy threw a basketball at his head.
It was also reported by Bob Kravitz and Sam Amick of The Athletic that there was an altercation between those on the Indiana Pacers and Morant’s entourage after a game. The Pacers said someone riding in the car with the guard beamed a laser on them. One eyewitness stated it was “100 percent” attached to a gun, while another co-signed, “We felt we were in grave danger.”
Ja’s use of social media and his alleged temper seem to keep the young player in hot water. It may be time for the phenom to reevaluate some things before all is lost.
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