The Memphis Grizzlies suspended their star Ja Morant until further notice Sunday, a day after a video on social networks showing him holding a gun, two months after the similar incident that earned him to be sanctioned by the NBA.
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We are aware of the video, circulating on social media, involving Ja Morant. He is suspended from all team activity pending the review of the situation by the North American league (NBA), said the Memphis franchise.
This new video, which was circulating on Instagram Live, has since been deleted. It shows Morant in the front passenger seat of a car holding what strongly looks like a gun in his left hand, with no knowledge of when the incident occurred.
It is reminiscent of the one a little more than two months ago, albeit under slightly different circumstances, on which Morant, while intoxicated, brandished a gun in a nightclub in Glendale near Denver, Colorado, after a game lost by his team against the Nuggets.
If the local police, after investigation, had not charged him, failing to find the gun and after establishing that no one had been threatened, the talented 23-year-old back had been suspended for eight games "for harmful conduct", by the NBA.
League boss Adam Silver called Morant's conduct "irresponsible, reckless and potentially very dangerous."
In the aftermath, the star had integrated a psychological support program in Florida for a few days. Then pledged to be "more responsible, smarter and stay away from all bad decisions," in an interview with ESPN after his suspension was announced.
Other cases tainted Morant's path. He was accused of "punching a 12-year-old 13 to 17 times" at his home in July 2022. His agent claimed at the time that he had acted in self-defence.
Selected second overall in the 2019 draft by Memphis, he has since confirmed the high hopes placed in him, both by his spectacular play and his statistical performances. This season he averaged 26.2 points, 8.1 assists and 5.9 rebounds per game, but did not prevent his team from being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Lakers.