The Memphis Grizzlies placed Ja Morant on an indefinite suspension on May 14. The decision came after a video of Morant flashing a gun on Instagram Live went viral on social media. Morant served an eight-game suspension during the 2022/23 regular season for the same offense.
However, the NBA declined to comment on the video, opting only to say that they were investigating. It was clear that the league was unwilling to let the latest Morant drama derail one of the biggest NBA Draft Lotteries in recent years. Despite this, the league finally broke its silence on the Morant situation when Commissioner Adam Silver sat down with ESPN.
Silver “Shocked” And Disappointed
There were two aspects to Silver’s reaction – shock and disappointment. “We talked directly about the consequences first,” Silver told ESPN on Tuesday, in regard to Morant’s original suspension. “Before we got to a subsequent potential to have done something wrong, we were very focused on the misconduct that was in front of us at the time. Frankly, most of our conversation was about how incredibly serious the first incident was of waving a firearm on social media. Again, the consequences there — an eight-game suspension — was pretty serious and something that he, at least to me, seemed to take incredibly seriously in that time. And we spoke for a long time about not just the consequences that could have on his career, but the safety issues around it.”
This background led to a frank and candid reaction from Silver about the latest incident involving Morant. “Honestly, I was shocked when I saw this weekend that video,” Silver said. “Now, we’re in the process of investigating it, and we’ll figure out exactly what happened to the best we can. The video is a bit grainy and all that, but I’m assuming the worst.” It’s unclear what punishment the NBA will hand down for this latest incident. Morant is one of the league’s biggest young stars and a major draw for fans and viewers. However, the NBA cannot afford to look as those its players can openly flaunt the league’s disciplinary policies. This is a developing story and any updates can be found here on HotNewHipHop.
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