Ja Morant was suspended on Friday June 16 for 25 matches by the North American Basketball League (NBA). The Memphis Grizzlies basketball player made a mistake by exposing himself for the second time with a firearm on social networks. Eager to display a face without a hitch, the NBA is intransigent.
Published on: 06/17/2023 – 18:25
A few seconds which are very expensive. For Ja Morant, the live video shared on Instagram in mid-May has serious consequences. In the car with friends, the basketball player was displayed for a moment with a firearm in his hand.
It was a repeat foul. Already, at the beginning of March, the Memphis Grizzlies player found himself at the heart of the same controversy. In a nightclub in Glendale, near Denver and in the wake of a lost meeting against the Nuggets, Ja Morant, intoxicated, had brandished a firearm.
For this first skid, the American had received an eight-match suspension. This was the decision of the NBA, which wanted to sanction a “ behavior detrimental to the league ». « Ja’s driving was irresponsible, reckless and potentially very dangerous “, had thundered Adam Silver, the boss of the NBA, who also denounced a bad example for the youth.
« I promise you I will get better »
Suffice to say that Morant’s new exit from the road has not passed with the powerful league: this time, the 23-year-old player is suspended for 25 matches. This means he will miss almost a third of the 2023-2024 regular season (82 matches in total).
Adam Silver wants to be severe. In a press release, the manager once again deplores the “ irresponsible behavior » from the star of the Grizzlies. « For Ja, basketball must take a back seat for now “, he believes, and the basketball player will have to, before hoping to return to the courts, ” follow sessions that directly address the circumstances that led him to repeat this destructive behavior ».
The point guard will not be paid during his suspension and will therefore lose $7.6 million. His unavailability will also make him ineligible for the lucrative All-Star Game. Ja Morant, in a new statement, apologized:
« I’m sorry for the harm I caused. To the kids watching me, I’m sorry for disappointing you as a role model. I promise you I will get better. To all my sponsors, I will be a better representative for our brands. And for all my fans, I’ll make it up to you, I promise. (…) I hope you will give me a chance to prove to you that I am a better man than I have been able to show you. »
The NBA, breeding ground for serial controversy
The Rookie (Best Beginner) of the Year 2020, an ultra-athletic and explosive leader accustomed to delivering impressive actions, accumulates escapades. In addition to his attraction to weapons, Ja Morant is also accused of hitting a 17-year-old teenager in the summer of 2022, during an exhibition match. The basketball player connects all the hiccups that the NBA wants, precisely, to avoid at all costs.
In a country where the right to own guns is defended at all costs by supporters of the Second Amendment of the Constitution and by the influential National Rifle Association lobby, the severity of the NBA may seem surprising. But it is part of this desire to present a respectable face and without a hitch after recent years marked by harmful extra-sporting events.
In 2019, when the crackdown was harsh in Hong Kong, the NBA offended China by taking a stand for the protesters; in response, Beijing had severed its major commercial contracts with the league. The country then prevented the matches from being shown for almost two years.
Brooklyn Nets basketball players Lance Thomas (left) and Garrett Temple (center) on August 7, 2020. AP – Ashley Landis
After the death of George Floyd, many NBA players have took part in the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement and organized a strike which caused a lot of talk. Donald Trump, then President of the United States, called the NBA ” political organization “. The ex-head of state has since continued to exchange pleasantries with the superstar LeBron Jameswhich is fiercely opposed to him.
In 2021, it was the question of the vaccine against Covid-19 that caused trouble. The NBA and some states requiring a complete vaccination schedule, some players found themselves sidelined, starting with the famous Kyrie Irving, then Brooklyn Nets player (a New York franchise). The latter also caused controversy by relaying anti-Semitic and conspiratorial speeches.
With Ja Morant, the NBA has to deal with another problem. And the exercise is delicate for Adam Silver, forced to show firmness against a headliner.
