Morant is suspended 25 games for gun video

The NBA suspended Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant for 25 games without pay to start the 2023-24 season after a league investigation found that he had posed with a gun in a video streamed on social media for the second time in just over two months.

Morant was suspended for eight games after the first video in March. On Friday, Commissioner Adam Silver said it was “alarming and disconcerting” that Morant had repeated his behavior after telling the league and the public that he wouldn’t.

“The potential for other young people to emulate Ja’s conduct is particularly concerning,” Silver said in a statement announcing the new punishment. “Under these circumstances we believe a suspension of 25 games is appropriate and makes clear that engaging in reckless and irresponsible behavior with guns will not be tolerated.”

A few hours later, the NBA players’ union pushed back against the discipline, calling it

“excessive and inappropriate.”

The most recent video, which was streamed live on a friend’s Instagram account on May 13, showed the 23-year-old Morant waving a gun around in a vehicle.

Morant, in a statement Friday, apologized to the league, Silver, his teammates, fans and the city of Memphis.

“I’m sorry for the harm I’ve done,” he said. “To the kids who look up to me, I’m sorry for failing you as a role model. I promise I’m going to be better.”

Jordan to sell most of his Hornets stake

Michael Jordan, the owner of the Charlotte Hornets and one of the world’s most storied athletes, has agreed to sell his majority share in the team to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, two private equity investors.

The team, in its announcement of the sale, did not disclose what percentage of his stake Jordan would sell but said he would remain a minority investor.