Morant was live streaming on his own Instagram from a nightclub very early Saturday morning. While shirtless and rapping along with music, Morant held up what appeared to be a handgun in his left hand.
Not that there’s ever a good time for an NBA star to flash a gun on social media, but Morant’s timing was especially bad. Mere days ago, Washington Post published a story about Morant allegedly threatening a mall security guard and brandishing a gun in after an altercation with a 17-year-old. The NBA investigated Morant and his entourage for allegedly pointing guns at the Indiana Pacers’ team bus in January, but they couldn’t corroborate the presence of a weapon.
Memphis announced that Morant would not play in the Grizzlies’ next two games, against the Clippers and the Lakers on Sunday and Tuesday. The NBA will investigate. League spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement, “We are aware of a social media post involving Ja Morant and are investigating.”
Morant’s attorney responded to the Post story by saying, “Any and every allegation involving a firearm has been fully investigated and could not be corroborated,” which is different from denying that firearms were present.
Neither the Grizzlies nor the NBA took action after Morant’s numerous other incidents. Still, the league should be able to corroborate the presence of a gun in this case, since it was on video.
It’s reminiscent of the NBA’s response when teammates Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton brought guns into the Washington Wizards locker room. Before the league or federal authorities completed their investigations, them-commissioner David Stern suspended Arenas indefinitely for making light of the incident. The last straw was when Arenas pointed “finger guns” at his teammates before a game.
Eventually, the league suspended Arenas for the remainder of the 2009-10 season, and he was sentenced to two years of probation. Crittenton also got suspended for the season, and year later, he murdered a 22-year-old mother of four. In 2015, he was sentenced to 23 years in prison.
That’s why the team and the NBA are finally taking action, however belatedly. Guns are a serious matter. Former Grizzlies center Lorenzen Wright was shot to death in 2010 in a suburb of Memphis. And the city’s most famous rapper was murdered two years ago.
Perhaps the suspension will serve as a wakeup call for Morant. A two-game suspension is a lot milder than the alternatives.
