Ja Morant may face NBA suspension if he had gun on team premises
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The troubles are continuing to mount for Ja Morant.
As the Grizzlies’ superstar guard is out indefinitely following an ill-advised Instagram live video that he shared of himself flashing a gun at a strip club, it has emerged that he would be subject to a potentially lengthy NBA suspension if it turns out that he brought the firearm on team premises, which includes the Grizzlies’ plane or locker room.
NBA reporters Marc Stein and Chris Haynes discussed their matter on their podcast, “#thisleague UNCUT.”
Stein suggested on the podcast that Morant could be facing a 50-game suspension if it was determined he possessed the weapon on team premises, but later clarified that an exact suspension length would be up to NBA commissioner Adam Silver. David Stern suspended former Wizards star Gilbert Arenas indefinitely — it turned out to be 50 games — in 2010 for bringing guns into the team’s locker room.
“A firearm on team premises is indeed a violation of NBA rules and subjects the player to discipline … but there is NO specific suspension length in league bylaws. Suspension length is imposed at the commissioner’s discretion,” Stein tweeted on Tuesday.
Colorado police confirmed that Morant is under investigation to see if he violated local firearms laws.
Morant’s video came the same week as an extensive Washington Post story detailed a series of conflicts that the point guard has had off the court in the past year.
Morant was accused of flashing a gun at a high school-age basketball prospect with whom he had a confrontation with at a pick-up game at Morant’s house.
It had been previously reported that Morant swung multiple times at the player; Morant claimed self-defense as the adversary had thrown a ball at his head.
Morant also filed a police report connected with the incident saying that the other player made threats of gun violence.
There was a separate incident in which Morant was accused of threatening a mall security guard; he was not charged in the matter.
Previously this season, members of the Pacers alleged that Morant’s associates pointed a red laser at them following a confrontation; an NBA investigation at the time could not corroborate that guns were involved in the incident.
“I’m sorry to my family, teammates, coaches, fans, partners, the city of Memphis and the entire Grizzlies’ organization for letting you down,” Morant said in a statement following the fallout of the IG Live video. “I’m going to take some time away to get help and work on learning better methods of dealing with stress and my overall well-being.”
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