Topline
The NBA suspended Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant Wednesday for “conduct detrimental to the league,” officials announced Wednesday, after the 23-year-old was taped on an Instagram Live video waving a gun at a Colorado strip club.
Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant was suspended eight games from the NBA.
Key Facts
Morant will be suspended for the next eight games without pay, leaving him off the court until the Grizzlies’ March 20 game against the Dallas Mavericks—Morant has already missed five games since the incident on March 4.
League officials, who had been investigating the incident, said in a statement they “did not conclude” the gun seen in the video belonged to Morant or that he brought it into the strip club.
Officials also found Morant did not travel with the gun while on the road against the Denver Nuggets, or possess it in an NBA facility.
Key Background
Police in Glendale, Colorado, released a statement on the incident last week, saying they were alerted to it by social media reports. Even though police called the video “disturbing,” they did not receive calls for disturbances at the time of the event, and did not find enough evidence to charge Morant. In the video, Morant had briefly held the gun as he partied inside the club (Colorado has “open carry” laws allowing adults to carry guns without a permit if the person doing so is not intoxicated).
Contra
After the video was posted, Morant said he takes “full responsibility” and that he would “take some time away to get help.” The Grizzlies, who are in second place in the Western Conference, lost their first two games without Morant, but have notched wins in their past two games.
Further Reading
Grizzlies Star Ja Morant Won’t Face Charges For Gun-Waving Video (Forbes)
Ja Morant says he’ll get help after video shows apparent gun (Associated Press)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/03/15/ja-morant-suspended-8-games-from-nba-after-waving-gun-at-nightclub/