The day after Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant was suspended by the team for another incident involving a gun, Monday’s sports debate shows offered their thoughts.
Fox’s Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless as well as ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith shared their thoughts and opinions on what could come for Morant in the immediate future.
While this is the second incident that Morant has had with firearms, he did not violate any laws for either location he was in.
However, the three pundits believe that his NBA career could be in jeopardy due to league and team mandates following his March incident back in Denver.
Smith took a more critical route of Morant, saying that his actions could lead to a more serious suspension from the league.
Ja Morant appeared on an Instagram Live video on Saturday – where he was seen with a gun
Morant (L) was in the drivers seat of a car where he was seen holding up a pistol for the camera
Stephen A. Smith indicated that NBA sources believe Morant should be suspended for a year
‘Ja Morant has been associated with guns more than he’s been associated with winning,’ Smith said on ESPN’s First Take. ‘Think about that for a second, because you got Nike and this signature shoe.
‘And suddenly Kyrie Irving ain’t that big of a problem when you look at it. Because Kyrie ain’t harm anybody. Kyrie ain’t put himself in some kind of situation where it was considered an endangerment to other human beings. Kyrie didn’t do that, okay?
‘But the sneaker deal went away from him and the public came down upon him, myself included. Not being hypocritical here.
‘The point is, it’s nothing compared to what we’re talking about with Ja Morant as it pertains to the company he keeps, the kind of stuff he’s got on his person, along with just an attitude that says, “You know what, I’ll say what people want to hear. I’ll convince them to believe it. But at the end of the day, what am I really, really doing?What Ja Morant said he was going to do: what he wants. He ain’t changing for anybody.” That’s a quote that he gave just a few months ago.
‘So guess what? The Memphis Grizzlies, this is the second time they’re suspending him. How has that worked out? The league evidently is going to feel compelled to step in.
‘And I’ve got people in the league texting me saying Ja Morant should be suspended for the year. I’m not saying that I think that’s too harsh, but there are people who are saying you got to send a message to the entire league that this kind of stuff is not going to be tolerated because it compromises success of the brand.’
Shannon Sharpe is in disbelief that Morant would jeopardize the career he’s made for himself
Sharpe also believes that Morant will lose a number of endorsements due to his actions
On Fox’s ‘Skip and Shannon: Undisputed’, Sharpe tried to contextualize Morant’s actions while criticizing those who said that his past behavior should be ignored.
‘So now, see [here’s] the problem, see, Ja can’t do any further embarrassment to himself. What about to the Memphis Grizzlies? What about to the NBA? What about to Nike? What about to Powerade?,’ Sharpe wondered.
‘Now I want to know who going to be the treasurer of that GoFundMe because he’s about to lose that NBA contract. He’s about to lose that Powerade endorsement.
‘Now I want to know… all the people that said “let Ja be Ja”, are you all going to be the treasurer of that GoFundMe account?
‘Because he just lost $39million because he wasn’t on one of the three All-NBA teams. He’s about to lose another $20-30million of these endorsement deals.
‘So I want to know in the process of “Ja being Ja, do your thing”, what you all going to do now? Who’s going to run the Ja’s defense?
Morant has had many violent incidents throughout this season as well as a gun controversy
Back in March, Morant appeared to hold up a gun in an Instagram Live video at a Denver club
Sharpe continued, saying that he does things in his private life that his employer may have an issue with posting. He then asked, ‘Why can’t Ja understand that?
‘Take anybody from the streets, Skip, and they do what Ja pretends he wants to do: bang for a living.
‘Say, “you know what, I’m going to give you an opportunity to get up off these streets. I’m going to give you a contract for about $200 million over the next five years. But you got to give up banging.” What do you think they’re going to do Skip?
‘Prime example: Jay-Z. Jay-Z was in them streets. I’m leaving that behind. 50 Cent was in them streets. Snoop… no I’m going to leave that behind.
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‘This man is the CEO of “Ja Inc.” What CEO you know, carrying a tool? What CEO you know on IG live? I don’t see Tim Cook. I don’t see the Murdochs. I don’t see anybody leave big corporations, CEO caring a stick around if you feel that unsafe. Hire security, [that’s] all you got to do.
‘That’s what most of them do. You don’t see LeBron without his team. You don’t see most of these guys, high prominent profile people that feel that their life might be in jeopardy. Hire security roll to around with you.
‘But “nah, nah, nah. I don’t need no security. I got that fire with me. Let you all know I’m about this life.” Your mom and dad did everything they could to protect you when you were growing up… Now it looks like John came from a middle class. But whatever it is, he wanted to ascend to a higher level, have better than what he had growing up.
‘He gets to that point and not only does he not want to go back to the middle class in which he came from, he want to go back to the trenches. He want to go back to the mud. After you make 40 mil, you makin’ 40, 50 mil a year, and you want to live that lifestyle? For what?’
Skip Bayless indicated that he’s disappointed with Morant’s behavior but praised his game
In response to his co-host’s comments, Bayless pointed out the various legal issues Morant had been through to remind the audience.
But before getting into all of that, Bayless recalled how impressed he was with Morant’s on-court presence and his dedication to improving himself.
‘I have tried and tried and tried some more to love this kid because I really love him as a basketball player,’ Bayless admitted. ‘But who doesn’t? Who can’t? You and I went back and forth ahead of his draft. I said I liked him, but I think Zion [Williamson]’s going to be a greater force than the league just because he’s so much bigger.
‘And I did worry a little bit about Ja’s size and about his ability to shoot the three. He really struggled his first year to shoot the three. And as you say, he got in somebody’s lab.
‘I don’t know what lab he got into, but he showed me a lot about his dedication and discipline in the offseason when it comes to basketball. Period. End of story.
‘Because he turned himself into the NBA’s most improved player, turned his whole game back around by making three point shots in his second year. I was highly impressed with that.’
