Disgraced Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant has insisted he “keeps working” on himself after he was filmed showing off a gun on Instagram Live for the second time on Sunday.
The 23-year-old was suspended “from all team activity” by the Grizzlies on Sunday after he was seen wielding a gun on Instagram for the second time in two months.
Morant was seen on Instagram Live in the driver’s seat of a car holding a gun on Sunday.
The clip came just two months after he was seen at a Denver strip club holding a gun in an Instagram video that sparked a police and league investigation.
Morant acknowledged he disappointed a lot of people, including teammates, fans and the league, with the latest incident and insisted he still had work to do.
Ja Morant appeared on an Instagram Live video on Saturday – where he was seen with a gun
The leader’s statement, shared by Adrian Wojnarowski, read: ‘I know I disappointed a lot of people who supported me. It is a journey and I recognize that there is still work to be done. My words may not mean much right now, but I take full responsibility for my actions. I promise to keep working on myself.
In the last clip. Morant was seen on Instagram Live in the driver’s seat of a car holding a gun while singing rapper YoungBoy NBA’s song “1.5.”
After revealing the gun, the person recording the video immediately turned the camera away from Morant for the rest of the clip that surfaced.
In a statement to DailyMail.com on Sunday, the league said: “We are aware of the social media post involving Ja Morant and are gathering more information.”
Commissioner Adam Silver has now appeared to confirm that the NBA is investigating the incident, but it is unclear whether this will result in criminal charges or what other action, if any, the league will choose to take.
Morant’s incident in March showed him dancing topless in a strip club before raising a gun to the side of his head.
Hours after the incident, it was reported that he was being investigated by the NBA and that Morant had been banned for “at least two games” by the Grizzlies while the investigation continued.
Morant then released a statement taking responsibility for his actions and explaining that he would be taking time off the game to work on his well-being.
“I take full responsibility for my actions last night,” he said. “I’m sorry to my family, my teammates, my coaches, my fans, my partners, the city of Memphis and the entire Grizzlies organization for letting you down.
“I will take time to get support and work on learning better ways to manage stress and my overall well-being.”
An investigation by police in Glendale, Colorado resulted in no criminal charges and found no wrongdoing.
However, as Morant took time off for his well-being, which included a brief stint at a treatment center in Florida, he met with Silver where he was told he would be suspended for eight games – including the time that he had already purged.
Silver revealed on Tuesday that he also discussed with him the seriousness of Morant’s actions and that he felt the ringleader understood the seriousness.
However, after the latest incident, it appears Morant hasn’t learned the lesson of the encounter with the commissioner and Silver admitted he was “shocked” when the clip surfaced on Sunday.
“Honestly, I was shocked when I saw this weekend – this video,” he told ESPN ahead of Tuesday night’s NBA draft lottery.
“Now we are investigating. We’ll find out exactly what happened as best we can. Again, the video is grainy and all that, but I guess the worst.
The scandal is just the latest in a series of controversies that have followed Morant throughout the season – something he has recently admitted to being a distraction for the team.
After the Grizzlies were knocked out of the playoffs by the Lakers, Morant said, “I just have to be better at my decision making. That is just about everything. The issues off the pitch affected us a lot as an organization. Just [need] more rigor.’
Morant was sued in September for allegedly punching Tennessee teenager Josh Holloway in the face during a pickup game, but the NBA star claims he was acting in self-defense.
Police interviews obtained by The Washington Post reveal the 17-year-old told detectives from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office that the point guard punched him “12 to 13 times”, adding that the Morant’s friend had hit him “four to five times”. ‘
Holloway claimed that when he got up to leave after the fight, Morant entered his house and reappeared with a gun.
Morant allegedly had the gun visible in his trouser waistband and had his hand on the gun.
The 17-year-old complainant claimed he was playing basketball with Morant when the two got into an argument, which quickly escalated. He admits throwing a basketball at Morant and “accidentally” hitting the 6-foot-2 guard in the face.
Morant and his friend allegedly responded by punching the 17-year-old ‘with a clenched fist, knocking him to the ground’ and leaving him with a ‘big knot’ in the side of his head, according to a police report by deputies . who said they observed the boy’s injuries.
Recently, Morant filed a countersuit against Holloway saying he lied to the police and the youngster was the aggressor in the situation.
Morant was also involved in a separate incident at a Memphis mall last summer, after the New York Post reported that the security chief told police that Morant had ‘threatened’ him during a an altercation in the parking lot.
Morant’s mother reportedly had an argument with a mall shoe store employee and she called her son who arrived shortly after with a group of “up to nine people”.
According to the police report, Morant and his friends refused to leave the parking lot when confronted by the mall’s security manager.
Police arrived and a “verbal confrontation” allegedly escalated before someone in Morant’s entourage pushed the security chief to the head, the report added.
“As the group left the scene…Ja Morant said, ‘Let me know what time he is coming down,’” police wrote.
Also, there was an alleged incident after the Grizzlies’ game with the Pacers on Jan. 29, when acquaintances of Morant “aggressively clashed” with members of the Indiana roving band – and someone allegedly pointed. a red laser on them.
Athleticism said that Morant was riding with his friend Davonte Pack and another person in an SUV when a red laser was pointed at the Pacers bus.
Two people who spoke to the publication anonymously said they believed the laser was attached to a gun, while a nearby Indiana security guard claimed “it’s 100% gun”. However, it has not been confirmed if the laser was attached to a weapon.
The league has opened an investigation into the allegation but has concluded that it “does not substantiate that an individual threatened others with a weapon,” an NBA spokesperson said.