23-year-old Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant has been suspended for eight games by the NBA after he appeared in several shocking social media videos.
Young Grizzlies star Ja Morant, who posted a video of himself brandishing a gun in a nightclub, has been suspended for eight games.for conduct detrimental to the league“, announced Wednesday the NBA.
This suspension,without salary payment“For missed matches, is retroactive, said the body. The rear will therefore be able to return to the Memphis team on March 21, during the match against the Dallas Mavericks.
In the early morning of March 4, Morant, 23, one of the most prominent players in the championship, had posted a livestream, in which he briefly held a handgun at a nightclub in Glendale, Colorado. The NBA investigation established “that he was intoxicated”.
The local police had conducted theirs and had “concluded that no one had been threatened by the firearm and that in fact no firearm had been found“Deciding not to charge the young man.
«Based on the information obtained during the investigation, the league has not concluded that the weapon in question belonged to Morant, that he brought it into the nightclub or that he exhibited it. beyond a short period. The investigation also could not establish that he possessed the gun while traveling with the team or at an NBA facility.“, abounded the instance.
«Ja’s driving was irresponsible, reckless and potentially very dangerous“said league boss Adam Silver, after a meeting at the NBA offices in New York with Morant, also attended by the director of the players’ union (NBPA).
«It also has serious consequences given the considerable influence he wields, especially on young fans who look up to him. He expressed sincere contrition and remorse for his behavior“, he added.
«Ja also made it clear to me that he learned the lessons from this incident and that he understood that his obligations and responsibility to the Memphis Grizzlies and the entire NBA community went far beyond his performance. in the field», a conclu Silver.
