Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies has been suspended for 25 games, the league announced on Friday. The suspension comes as a result of his second incident involving holding a gun in a social media video, and according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, conditions for his return will be included.
The NBA announced today that Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant has been suspended 25 games without pay for conduct detrimental to the league.
Morant posed with a firearm in a car during a live-streamed video on May 13, less than two months after he was suspended eight games without pay for the live streaming of a video on March 4 in which he displayed a firearm while in an intoxicated state at a Denver area nightclub.
The league office found that, on May 13, Morant intentionally and prominently displayed a gun while in a car with several other individuals as they were leaving a social gathering in Memphis. Morant wielded the firearm while knowing that he was being recorded and that the recording was being live streamed on Instagram Live, despite having made commitments to the NBA and public statements that he would not repeat the conduct for which he was previously disciplined. On May 16, Morant issued a statement taking full accountability for his actions.
Morant's suspension begins immediately and will remain in effect through the first 25 games of the 2023-24 NBA regular season for which he is otherwise eligible and able to play. He will also be required to meet certain conditions before he returns to play and will be ineligible to participate in any public league or team activities, in eluding preseason games, during the course of his suspension.
"Ja Morant's decision to once again wield a firearm on social media is alarming and disconcerting given his similar conduct in March for which he was already suspended eight games," said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. "The potential for other young people to emulate Ja's conduct is particularly concerning. Under these circumstances, we believe a suspension of 25 games is appropriate and makes clear that engaging in reckless and irresponsible behavior with guns will not be tolerated.
"For Ja, basketball needs to take a back seat at this time. Prior to his return to play, he will be required to formulate and fulfill a program with the league that directly addresses the circumstances that led him to repeat this destructive behavior."
Shortly after the league announced his punishment, Morant released a statement apologizing for his actions and vowing to be better.
"I've had time to reflect and I realize how much hurt I've caused," Morant said in the statement. "I want to apologize to the NBA, the Grizzlies, my teammates and the city of Memphis. To Adam Silver, Zach Kleiman and Robert Pera -- who gave me the opportunity to be a professional athlete and have supported me -- I'm sorry for the harm I've done. To the kids who look up to me, I'm sorry for failing you as a role model. I promise I'm going to be better. To all of my sponsors, I'm going to be a better representation of our brands. And to all of my fans, I'm going to make it up to you, I promise.
"I'm spending the offseason and my suspension continuing to work on my own mental health and decision making. I'm also going to be training so that I'm ready to go when I can be back on the court. I know my teammates are going to hold it down and I'm so sorry I won't be out there with you at the beginning of the season. I hope you'll give me the chance to prove to you over time I'm a better man than what I've been showing you."
The Grizzlies also released a statement backing the decision made by the commissioner.
"We respect the League's decision to suspend Ja Morant following this latest episode. Our standards as a league and team are clear, and we expect that all team personnel will adhere to them."
On the morning of May 14, a video of Morant, 23, dancing in a car with a gun in his hand on Instagram Live began circulating on social media. It had been broadcast the previous day, 10 weeks after he had live streamed himself "holding a firearm in an intoxicated state while visiting a Denver area nightclub," as the league's official statement described it.
The Grizzlies announced on May 14 that the two-time All-Star was "suspended from all team activities" while the NBA looked into the second incident. Two days later, in an interview with ESPN's Malika Andrews before the draft lottery, commissioner Adam Silver said he was "shocked" when he saw the video and said that the league was investigating it. "The video is a bit grainy and all that," Silver said. "But I'm assuming the worst."
That same night, Morant issued a statement saying, "I know I've disappointed a lot of people who have supported me. This is a journey and I recognize there is more work to do. My words may not mean much right now, but I take full accountability for my actions. I'm committed to continuing to work on myself."
On June 1, before the Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat tipped off, Silver said that the NBA had "uncovered a fair amount of additional information, I think, since I was first asked about the situation." He added that the league "probably could have brought it to a head now, but we made the decision -- and I believe the Players Association agrees with us -- that it would be unfair to these players and these teams in the middle of the series to announce the results of that investigation."
Silver said then that determining the severity of the punishment is "not an exact science," but, the individual player's history, the seriousness of the conduct and precedent are all factors.
After the initial incident in Colorado, Morant was suspended for eight games and missed an additional one to ramp up his conditioning. He went to a counseling program in Florida, met with Silver in New York and, in an interview with ESPN's Jalen Rose, said, "I've made a bad mistake. I can see the image that I've painted over myself with my recent mistakes. In the future I'm gonna show everybody who Ja really is, what I'm about and change this narrative."
When Morant returned to the team, he told reporters that he went to Florida "to learn how to manage stress, cope with stress in a positive way instead of ways I've tried to deal with it before that caused me to make mistakes," adding that this was "an ongoing process."
Memphis' season ended with a 125-85 loss against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 of the first round of the playoffs on April 28. In his post-game press conference, Morant told reporters that, as the leader of the team, he had to make better decisions away from the court.
"Off-the-court issues affected us as an organization," Morant said.
