Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant is under investigation in Colorado after he appeared to brandish a gun while in a nightclub after the team had played the Denver Nuggets on Friday night, police said.
Morant appeared in a livestream on Instagram and is believed to have filmed the incident in Glendale, located right outside Denver.
Glendale police Capt. Jamie Dillon told The Associated Press authorities didn’t receive any calls or complaints about Morant’s actions but began looking into them Saturday after learning about the video that circulated on social media.
Ja Morant #12 of the Memphis Grizzlies celebrates his three-point basket against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first quarter of the game at Target Center on November 30, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (David Berding/Getty Images)
Police are probing whether Morant broke any laws.
There is no timetable for Morant’s return to the team, coach Taylor Jenkins said Sunday before they took on the Los Angeles Clippers. The superstar point guard was going to be away from the team for at least two games.
Jenkins said that Morant has made “difficult decisions and poor choices” that he has to be accountable for.
Memphis Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins listens to a question about about Ja Morant during a news conference prior to an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Clippers Sunday, March 5, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
“He’s definitely embracing the mistakes that he’s made, but only time will tell. We’re going to support him, and we’re going to hold him accountable to make those changes,” Jenkins said, declining to lay out the exact steps Morant needed to accomplish to return to the Grizzlies.
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“We love him, we want what’s best for him, we support him. It’s going to be a difficult process, but we’ve got a great group to get through this.”
Jenkins added that it was “an ongoing healing process.”
Ja Morant #12 of the Memphis Grizzlies is restrained by the referee after a verbal altercation with Shannon Sharpe during the halftime against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena on January 20, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Ja Morant #12 of the Memphis Grizzlies looks on against the Golden State Warriors during Game 3 of the 2022 NBA Playoffs Western Conference Semifinals on May 7, 2022 at Chase Center in San Francisco, California. (Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
Morant issued an apology for the incident.
“I take full responsibility for my actions last night,” Morant said. “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.”
The gun incident is the latest in a string of controversies looming over the superstar point guard. Morant actions were investigated after a Jan. 29 incident in Memphis that he said led to a friend, Davonte Pack, of his being banned from home games for a year.
Morant and Pack also are involved in a civil lawsuit brought after an incident this past summer in which a 17-year-old alleged that they assaulted him at Morant’s home. The Shelby County District Attorney’s Office said in January that it was “aware of the incident, and after careful review of the facts, decided that there was not enough evidence to proceed with a case.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
