Ja Morant suspended for
25 games by NBA
...after a video on social media circulated showing the All-Star brandishing a firearm. The NBA suspended Morant for eight games following a similar incident in March, when he was seen on Instagram Live holding up a handgun while intoxicated at a Denver-area club.
"Ja Morant's decision to once again wield a firearm on social media is alarming and disconcerting given his similar conduct in March for which he was already suspended eight games," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement.
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The NBA on Friday said Morant "wielded the firearm while knowing that he was being recorded ... despite having made commitments to the NBA and public statements that he would not repeat the conduct for which he was previously disciplined."
After the March incident, Morant enrolled in a Florida counseling facility -- to learn how to manage stress better, he later said -- before traveling to New York City to meet with Silver at the commissioner's office.
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"I've had time to reflect and I realize how much hurt I've caused," Morant said in a statement issued Friday. "I want to apologize to the NBA, the Grizzlies, my teammates and the city of Memphis. To Adam Silver, Zach Kleiman and Robert Pera -- who gave me the opportunity to be a professional athlete and have supported me -- I'm sorry for the harm I've done. To the kids who look up to me, I'm sorry for failing you as a role model. I promise I'm going to be better. To all of my sponsors, I'm going to be a better representation of our brands. And to all of my fans, I'm going to make it up to you, I promise.
"I'm spending the offseason and my suspension continuing to work on my own mental health and decision making. I'm also going to be training so that I'm ready to go when I can be back on the court. I know my teammates are going to hold it down and I'm so sorry I won't be out there with you at the beginning of the season. I hope you'll give me the chance to prove to you over time I'm a better man than what I've been showing you."
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"I guess in hindsight, I don't know [if the 8-game suspension was enough]. If it had been a 12-game suspension instead of an eight-game suspension, would that have mattered? I know it seemed based on precedent, and he's represented, and we want to be fair in terms of the league, it seemed appropriate at the time. That's all I can say. Maybe by definition to the extent we've all seen the video that it appears he's done it again, I guess you could say maybe not."
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"Our standards as a league and team are clear," the Grizzlies statement said, "and we expect that all team personnel will adhere to them."
The "Grizzlies" "standards" are part of the problem here. This has been going on for a couple of years in Memphis, a backwater. To distinguish themselves among the thirty teams in the Association they have cultivated an image as a bad ass team and got the players to make that image a reality. See Dillon Brooks also. They tried to pick a rivalry with Golden State. 🙄The franchise seems to have woken up after Brooks' conduct against LeBron James in the playoffs and the Morant morass that is at least a year old. Reputations die hard however, and a complete "culture" makeover is what is needed.
