NBA Star Ja Morant Testifies in Tennessee Court for Assault Against Teenager

Ja Morant, star of the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies, recreated what the assault against a teenager was like in the Tennessee courts (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian via AP)

While the NBA prepares the return of Ja Morant, the Memphis Grizzlies star, who is out of competition due to a 25-game suspension after being publicly shown with a firearm, was testifying this Monday in county court. from Shelby, in the state of Tennessee, within the framework of a trial against him for having assaulted a minor during a friendly basketball game in July 2022.

Morant, 24, is one of the great figures of the United States basketball league, but his behavior off the court has harmed him in the last year. The Grizzlies player continues with the demands of Justice to settle his pending accounts and recreated before the judges what the episode was like in which he hit a young man named Joshua Holloway.

In front of the lawyer, Morant extended his right arm with a closed fist, recreating the blow he dealt to Holloway, who was 17 years old at the time. “I hit him first to protect myself. I thought he was going to hit me,” said the basketball player in his defense. Then, he continued recounting in detail what happened in that match with his rival, who had previously thrown a ball in his face, which was the reason that started the brawl. He “came closer to me and pulled up his pants. I understood that it was a fighting situation,” argued the NBA star in statements published by the TMZ portal.

The incident occurred on July 26, 2022 at Ja Morant’s family home, where his father, Tee, used to organize basketball games on the court they have in the patio of the house and also provided refreshments to the guests. . In one of the duels, his son and a friend of his (Davonte Pack) hit Holloway, who later sued them for assault, abuse and causing him emotional distress. Morant’s defense stated that his client responded forcefully to an attack when she felt threatened at his home and that he is covered by Tennessee law.

Ja Morant testifies in court after being accused of hitting a minor during a basketball game in 2022 (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian via AP)

What happened the day of the fight? According to the statement, Morant was vastly outplaying Holloway, which exacerbated tempers between the two. The Memphis player said that when they were face to face to pass the ball to each other and for the attack to begin, the young man left the ball on the ground as a provocative sign. After an exchange, Holloway threw a ball in the face of Morant, who asked him why he had reacted that way. When they were face to face again, the NBA man interpreted that his opponent was going to hit him and proceeded to punch her. Then, his friend Davonte Pack knocked him down.

In another of the hearing sequences, Morant recreated what the ball transfer was like, called Check-Ball with the lawyer. Ja took the basketball and passed it to him in the middle of the room. In the next scene she threw the punch again, just like she did with Holloway. “You could have pushed Joshua, you could have talked to him, you could have guided him or you could have told him: ‘Hey, man, this is not what we do here, leave my property,’” the lawyer said. To which the player responded that he considered these options before acting.

The hearing will continue until Wednesday to determine if Morant is guilty of assault and what sentence he could face. The star could return to the courts again this December 19 in the game that the Memphis Grizzlies will have against the New Orleans Pelicans.

THE IMAGES OF JA MORANT IN THE COURTS

Ja Morant testified in Tennessee courts after being charged with assaulting a minor during a basketball game (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian via AP) Tee Morant, Ja Morant’s father, was the one who organized the game at his home (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian via AP)Ja Morant had to recreate how the ball is passed in informal basketball games (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian via AP)Attorney Rebecca Adelman, Joshua Holloway’s lawyer, throws the ball recreating the scene in which it was accuses Ja Morant of assaulting the young man (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian via AP)Ja Morant and Davonte Pack in the dock (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian via AP)Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant testified before the judges for assault on a minor (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian via AP)Ja Morant during trial for assault on a minor (Stu Boyd II/The Commercial Appeal via AP)Davonte Pack, a friend of Ja Morant, is the defendant of hitting Holloway that knocked him to the ground (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian via AP)
2023-12-12 19:36:00
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