Ja Morant is back in the news after being suspended for appearing to brandish a firearm in an Instagram Live video that surfaced on May 13.
Morant's latest suspension comes just two months after he served an eight-game suspension for holding a gun during an Instagram Live video. After statements from the Grizzlies organization and the NBA, Morant has issued a statement regarding his most recent transgression.
"I know I've disappointed a lot of people who have supported me," Morant began in a statement shared via ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
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"This is a journey and I recognize there is more work to do. My words may not mean much right now, but I take full accountability for my actions. I'm committed to continuing to work on myself."
Ja Morant statement: “I know I’ve disappointed a lot of people who have supported me. This is a journey and I recognize there is more work to do. My words may not mean much right now, but I take full accountability for my actions. I’m committed to continuing to work on myself.”
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 17, 2023
Morant's statement touches on many of the concepts of self-improvement that he discussed during his suspension two months ago.
When Morant faced a suspension for conduct detrimental to the league in March, he issued a statement in which he shared that he would be taking time to "work on learning better methods of dealing with stress and my overall well-being."
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Upon his return to the team in March, Morant shared with ESPN's Jalen Rose that he entered a counseling program in Florida where he worked on stress management techniques, which included Reiki and anxiety breathing.
Now, Morant has been suspended indefinitely by the Grizzlies and, according to Wojnarowski, faces a "significant suspension" to start the 2023-24 NBA season, as commissioner Adam Silver has "wide-ranging latitude" on matters of conduct deemed detrimental to the league.
Two days after the Instagram Live video, Silver touched on the incident with ESPN's Malika Andrews, who he told "we’re in the process of investigating it, and we'll figure out exactly what happened to the best we can then. The video is a little bit grainy and all that, but I'm assuming the worst."
Morant now awaits the NBA's ruling, which will have a direct impact on how long he is suspended and, potentially, how much of the 2023-24 NBA season he will ultimately miss.
