Ja Morant suspended for gun-toting video
Grizzlies star will sit at least 2 games for video he streamed on Instagram
Ja Morant will be away from the Memphis Grizzlies for at least their next two games, the team said Saturday not long after the NBA opened an investigation into a social media post by the guard after he livestreamed himself holding what appeared to be a gun at a nightclub.
The video was streamed by Morant to his Instagram page, and it was not archived once he stopped the stream. The Grizzlies played in Denver on Friday night; they were to fly to Los Angeles on Saturday for games against the Clippers on Sunday and the Lakers on Tuesday.
Morant will miss those two games, at minimum, the Grizzlies said, without any further comment.
“We are aware of a social media post involving Ja Morant and are investigating,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said earlier Saturday.
The league, if it finds wrongdoing, could fine or suspend Morant. Based on the Grizzlies’ statement, the earliest Morant could play again is Thursday at home against Golden State. It was not immediately clear if he was going to accompany the Grizzlies on their trip to Los
Angeles.
Memphis is currently No. 2 in the Western Conference standings, led by Morant, a two-time All-Star averaging 27.1 points and 8.2 assists per game.
This is at least the second time in the last few weeks that Morant has been the subject of a league investigation. Morant’s actions were investigated by the league after a Jan. 29 incident in Memphis that he said led to a friend of his being banned from home games there for a year.
That incident was following a game against the Indiana Pacers. The NBA confirmed that unnamed individuals were banned from the arena but said its investigation found no evidence that anyone was threatened with a weapon.
Morant responded to that incident by tweeting that the reports “paint this negative image on me and my fam. & banned my brother from home games for a year. unbelievable.” During the Jan. 29 game, there was barking between Pacers players and friends of Morant seated along the sideline. A close friend of Morant’s, Davonte Pack, was escorted from the arena.
Pack and Morant also are involved in a civil lawsuit after an incident at Morant’s home last summer, in which a 17-year-old alleged that they assaulted him. The Shelby County district attorney’s office said it didn’t have enough evidence to proceed onthe case.
Saturday’s games
•Fred VanVleet made two 3-pointers in overtime and scored 25 points to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 116-109 road win against the Washington Wizards. Toronto moved ahead of Washington for ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
• Darius Garlund’s 21 points led the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 114-90 victory against the visiting Detroit Pistons to move a game ahead of the New York Knicks for fourth place in the Eastern Conference.