Silver: Lack of criminal charges against Morant does not exempt him from NBA sanctions

DENVER (AP) — The fact that Ja Morant has not been charged with a felony for twice displaying a firearm on social media will not prevent the NBA from imposing any disciplinary action against the Memphis Grizzlies guard, he warned. Commissioner Adam Silver on Friday.

The league would prepare to announce any sanctions on Morant for the second firearm-related incident. The announcement would come shortly after the NBA Finals.

In March, Silver suspended Morant after the Grizzlies star displayed a gun at a suburban Denver nightclub during a live stream on the player’s own Instagram.

Another broadcast in May, this time from the front seat of a vehicle with one of his friends, showed Morant again holding a gun.

“Displaying or displaying them in a certain context is somewhat inconsistent with gun safety and is not the appropriate message an NBA player, particularly one of Ja’s level, should send to the tens of millions of fans he has, particularly when an incident that is broadcast live on social media is repeated,” Silver said.

“So yes, I think there is a similarity between this incident and the first one. The first alarmed me, he discouraged me ”.

Police in Colorado investigated the incident in March and did not file charges. Morant has also not been charged with any wrongdoing related to the May incident.

But the collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players indicates that the members agree to “not do anything that is detrimental or detrimental to the interests” of their team or the NBA.

That’s why Morant’s eight-game suspension in March cited conduct detrimental to the league. It is now reasonable to assume that the argument will be part of a new sanction.

“When we have a detrimental standard of conduct, ultimately it’s something that’s based on what we see as the values ​​of this league and our expectations of the players in terms of the image that we’re portraying to our fans,” he said. Silver. “So it’s not a legal standard, but from a private organization.”