Related Post
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver admits he is ‘shocked’ and is ‘assuming the worst’ after Ja Morant brandished a gun on Instagram again – two months after meeting with the Grizzlies star over strip club firearm scandal
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver admitted he was ‘shocked’ when the latest video of Ja Morant flashing gun resurfaced just weeks after he had a sit-down meeting with the young star over his previous incident.
The Memphis Grizzlies suspended Morant ‘from all team activities’ Sunday after he was seen brandishing a gun on Instagram for the second time in two months.
Morant was seen on Instagram Live in the drivers seat of a car holding a pistol while singing along to the song ‘1.5’ by rapper YoungBoy NBA.
The clip came just two months after Silver held a meeting with Morant in New York, during the Grizzlies star’s time away from the team after he was seen in a Denver strip club holding a gun on an Instagram video that sparked a police and league investigation.
League Commissioner, Silver, explained that he had believed Morant had understood the seriousness of the first incident and was therefore left in disbelief when the second clip surfaced at the weekend.
Ja Morant appeared on an Instagram Live video on Saturday – where he was seen with a gun
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver admitted he was ‘shocked’ at the latest incident
‘Honestly, I was shocked when I saw this weekend — that video,’ he told ESPN ahead of the NBA Draft Lottery Tuesday night.
‘Now, we’re in the process of investigating it. We’ll figure out exactly what happened the best we can. Again, the video is grainy and all that, but I’m assuming the worst.’
Morant’s incident from back in March showed him dancing topless in a strip club before lifting a gun to the side of his head.
Hours after the incident, it was reported that the incident was being investigated by the NBA, and that Morant had been banned for ‘at least two games’ by the Grizzlies while the investigation into the incident continued.
Morant then issued a statement taking responsibility for his actions and explaining he would be taking time away from the game to work on his well-being.
‘I take full responsibility for my actions last night,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry to my family, teammates, coaches, fans, partners, the city of Memphis and the entire Grizzlies organization for letting you down.
‘I’m going to take some time away to get help and work on learning better methods of dealing with stress and my overall well-being.’
An investigation by the Glendale, Colorado police resulted in no criminal charges and found no wrongdoing.
However, while Morant took time away for his well-being, which included a brief stint in a Florida treatment center, he met with Silver where he was informed that informed that he would be suspended for eight games – including the time he had already served.
Silver revealed Tuesday that he also discussed the gravity of Morant’s actions with him and came away with the impression that the point guard understood the seriousness.
‘We talked directly about the consequences of the first before we got to a subsequent potential to have done something wrong,’ Silver said when asked by ESPN if he had informed Morant of the subsequent consequences were a similar incident to occur again.
‘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, at least to me, he appeared to take very seriously at that time.
‘We spoke for a long time, not just about the consequences that could have on his career but the safety issues around it – he could have maimed, injured, killed himself or someone else with an act like that – and also acknowledgement that he’s a star, he has an incredibly huge following, and my concern, and I thought he shared it with me, was that millions, if not tens of millions, of kids globally would see him as having done something that was celebrating. I was at least left with the sense that he was taking this incredibly seriously.’
More to follow.
