A rough week for Ja Morant has gotten even worse.
In the early hours of Saturday morning, the Grizzlies star appeared to brandish a gun while filming himself in a nightclub.
The video was broadcast on Instagram Live to Morant's nine million followers. Clips of the incident quickly made the rounds on social media after it was posted. He has since deactivated his Twitter and Instagram accounts.
Morant released a statement on Saturday apologizing for the incident.
"I take full responsibility for my actions last night," he wrote. "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."
Grizzlies’ Ja Morant releases statement and says he is going to take time away to receive help: pic.twitter.com/5TxS7Qh3kJ
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 4, 2023
Ja Morant gun video
Below is a look at the video, courtesy of Clutch Points.
Grizzlies star Ja Morant was allegedly seen showing off a gun on his IG Live this morning.pic.twitter.com/HlhvoWlnYy
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) March 4, 2023
The video was taken at some point on Friday night after the Grizzlies lost 113-97 to the Nuggets in Denver. Morant put up 27 points and 10 assists in 33 minutes during that contest.
It's unclear where the video was filmed.
On Saturday, the team announced Morant will be away from the team for at least two games, missing matchups against the Clippers and Lakers in Los Angeles.
Statement from the Memphis Grizzlies pic.twitter.com/CLB2TG5nnI
— Grizzlies PR (@GrizzliesPR) March 4, 2023
On Wednesday, the Grizzlies released another statement saying that Morant will continue to be away from the team for at least another four games.
Statement from the Memphis Grizzlies pic.twitter.com/B3gk6injgK
— Grizzlies PR (@GrizzliesPR) March 8, 2023
Morant will now be out through March 15 missing matchups against the Warriors, Mavericks (twice) and Heat.
Ja Morant's recent controversies
Morant was already embroiled in controversy before the Instagram Live video was posted.
Last Wednesday, a Washington Post report alleged Morant repeatedly punched a teenage boy in the head and threatened him with a gun during a pickup basketball game at his house. He was also accused of threatening the head of security at a Memphis mall in the report.
Morant's agent, Jim Tanner, denied the allegations in a statement. He claimed his client was acting in self-defense.
Statements from Jim Tanner and Keenan Carter on today’s Washington Post reporting: pic.twitter.com/hTYz4rw8UA
— TANDEM (@_tandemse) March 1, 2023
Morant was also involved in an incident in late January in which members of the Pacers organization said a red laser was pointed at them from a car containing Morant and others. The accusers said they felt they were in "grave danger" during the altercation.
Morant later said one of his friends was banned from Memphis home games for at least a year following the incident.
Tanner denied those allegations as well, saying they were "unsubstantiated rumors and gossip" that were "put out by people motivated to tear Ja down and tarnish his reputation for their own financial gain."
Morant is in the midst of another excellent season — his fourth in the NBA. The two-time All-Star is averaging 27.1 points, 8.2 assists and 6.0 rebounds per game.
But his latest off-the-court controversy threatens to disrupt both his season and that of the Grizzlies — and perhaps even his career as a whole.
