The NBA investigated Ja Morant for threatening members of the Pacers this season. But last summer, it was allegedly teenagers and mall security.
Police records obtained by the Washington Post described two violent incidents allegedly involving the Memphis Grizzlies guard last summer. In the first, he allegedly punched a teenager who threw the ball at him during a pickup game at Morant’s house. The 17-year-old sued Morant in September, and the DA’s office declined to prosecute.
In the second, he came to a local mall with a group of “as many as nine people” after his mother had a dispute with an employee at The Finish Line, a shoe store. The director of mall security met the group and asked them to leave the parking lot. After police arrived, the situation escalated, with one member of Morant’s entourage allegedly pushing the security guard in the head.
The mall cop filed a report because when he was leaving, Morant said, “Let me find out what time he gets off,” which he interpreted as a threat. He also felt threatened after being hit in the head.
There’s new information about the incident with the teenager as well. Previously, TMZ Sports reported Morant and his entourage allegedly had punched the 17-year-old repeatedly, leaving him with a “large knot” on his forehead. Morant also allegedly threatened to “light his house up” when the teenager was being escorted off his property.
Now we’ve learned that the teenager told authorities that Morant had a gun in his waistband after the fight.
Getting into fights is one thing, but the repeated presence of firearms should be troubling to the Memphis Grizzlies and the NBA. After a postgame confrontation with the Indiana Pacers — an incident sparked by Morant’s friend Davonte Pack walking onto the court to yell at the players. Pack was also named as a defendant in the teenager’s lawsuit, and he was banned from Memphis’ arena for a year after the Pacers incident.
After Pack and “four or five other men” confronted the Pacers outside the arena, Morant and Pack got into an SUV and slowly drove past the bus. As the SUV approached, Pacers player and staff noticed a red laser beam aimed through their windows. A Pacers security guard said, “That’s 100 percent a gun.”
The Grizzlies have refused to comment, nor have they or the NBA disciplined for Morant for any of these incidents, at least not publicly. Meanwhile, Morant has complained that the media unfairly targets the Grizzlies.
Per Yahoo Sports’ Jack Baer, the NBA’s statement was limited to the “takes allegations of inappropriate conduct very seriously.”
Baer also provided a statement from Morant’s agent, Jim Tanner:
“[The allegations are] unsubstantiated rumors and gossip are being put out by people motivated to tear Ja down and tarnish his reputation for their own financial gain.
“Any and every allegation involving a firearm has been fully investigated and could not be corroborated. This includes the NBA investigation last month, in which they found no evidence. [The incident with the teenage boy] was purely self-defense. Again, after this was fully investigated by law enforcement, they came to the decision not to charge Ja with any crime.”
It’s an unwelcome distraction for a team with championship aspirations, but the alleged behavior is also dangerous, both for Morant and the people he confronts. Otherwise, the Grizzlies will have to amend their “Grit and Grind” mantra to include “Grand jury.”
