The NBA suspended Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant for eight games on Wednesday without pay after finding earlier this month that his display of a firearm at a club in a suburb of Denver was “detrimental to the league.”
Morant will miss his sixth game when the Grizzlies play in Miami on Wednesday night. He will miss the next two games and could return on Monday when Memphis plays Dallas.
The games he has already missed will count towards the suspension, and Morant will lose approximately $669,000 in salary.
“Ja’s actions were irresponsible, reckless and potentially very dangerous,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “It also has serious implications given his huge following and influence, especially among young fans who look up to him.”
Silver met with Morant in New York before announcing the league’s decision. The Grizzlies had no direct comment; Coach Taylor Jenkins is expected to maintain his standard pregame availability Wednesday night in Miami for the game against the Heat.
The league’s investigation, which began almost immediately after the March 4 incident in which Morant live-streamed himself on Instagram, found that he was “holding a firearm while drunk” — but failed to prove that Morant’s gun used was not owned or was shown. from him after a short time.”
The league’s investigation also did not show that Morant carried the gun on the flight from Memphis to Denver or that he possessed the gun while at an NBA facility. Colorado police said last week they were investigating the circumstances surrounding the video and concluded there was no basis to charge Morant with a crime.
“He has expressed sincere remorse and remorse for his behavior,” Silver said. “Ja also made it clear to me that he learned from this incident and that he understands that his obligations and responsibilities to the Memphis Grizzlies and the wider NBA community extend far beyond his play on the court.”
In any case, it was the second time that Morant has been the subject of a competition investigation in recent weeks. Morant’s actions came under scrutiny after a January 29 incident in Memphis, which he said resulted in a friend of his being banned from playing home games for a year.
This incident followed a game against the Indiana Pacers; Citing unnamed sources, the Indianapolis Star and USA Today reported that several members of the Pacers saw a red dot pointing at them, and the Athletic reported that a Pacers guard thought the laser was on an attached weapon.
The NBA confirmed that unnamed individuals were banned from the arena, but said the investigation found no evidence that anyone was threatened with a gun.
Morant and a close friend are also involved in a civil lawsuit filed after an incident at Morant’s home last summer in which a 17-year-old claimed they assaulted him.
Source: LA Times
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