Embattled Memphis Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant could be facing discipline from the NBA if found to have carried a gun on team premises.
Morant went on Instagram Live from a Denver gentleman’s club after a Friday night loss to the Nuggets, flaunting a gun to some of his nine million followers.
Resultantly, he was banned for two games – and later deemed to be out indefinitely by coach Taylor Jenkins.
According to multiple reports, both the league and Colorado Police are investigating how the gun made it to the Denver area.
Players are not allowed to carry firearms while on team property or traveling on team business.
Ja Morant played for the Grizzlies Friday night in Denver, just hours before the clip appeared
‘There are a couple of elements that the NBA and law enforcement in Colorado, what they’re trying to investigate or look into,’ NBA insider Marc Stein said on his This League Uncut podcast.
‘This was done on the road. This was at a club in Denver, I believe. And so there’s questions of did he personally bring the pistol in himself? And then, being on the road, there’s a question as to did he have the pistol on the team plane?’
Stein had initially suggested if Morant had brought it on to an NBA premises, then it would result in an automatic 50-game suspension due to a violation of the CBA.
Since, he clarified that such actions would be a violation of NBA policy but there is no binary suspension ‘in league bylaws.’
Police in Glendale, Colorado – a suburb of Denver – is investigating to see if Morant broke any gun laws.
Morant was seen dancing topless in a strip club on his Instagram just hours after the Grizzlies’ defeat in Denver last Friday.
In the aftermath, he issued an apology as the precocious talent takes time away from the league.
‘I take full responsibility for my actions last night,’ Morant said Saturday. ‘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.’
Steven Adams reportedly led a players-only meeting, which was largely directed at Morant
Morant’s strip club antics swiftly followed a reported players-only meeting led by big man Steven Adams, according to a Shams Charania report.
Adams was said to have encouraged teammates to show ‘better discipline on the road.’
Per the report, the veteran center told teammates ‘they need to stay away from going out when they’re on the road,’ though it was obvious who his words were largely intended for.
‘I’m told those in the room, when Steven Adams spoke out, they knew exactly who he was directing this to,’ Charania reported. ‘It was no one other than Ja Morant.’
The former No. 2 overall pick has found himself involved – directly or otherwise – in a series of incidents over recent weeks and months.
Morant was sued in September for allegedly punching a Tennessee teenager in the face during a pickup game, something the NBA star claims was in self-defense.
Details from police interviews obtained by The Washington Post revealed that the 17-year-old told detectives from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office that the point guard hit him ’12 to 13 times,’ adding that Morant’s friend struck him an additional ‘four to five times.’
Ja Morant appeared to hold up a gun in an Instagram Live video in the early hours of Saturday
The teenager claimed that as he got up to leave after the fight Morant went into his house and re-emerged with a gun.
Morant allegedly had the weapon visible in the waistband of his pants and had his hand on the gun.
Just days after the report was released, Morant performed a gun celebration after watching a teammate shoot a three-pointer as Memphis took care of Houston on March 1.
Morant was also involved in a separate incident at a Memphis mall last summer. The New York Post reported the head of security told police Morant ‘threatened’ him during an altercation in the parking lot.
Morant’s mother reportedly got into a dispute with a employee at a shoe store at the mall and she called her son who arrived shortly after with a group of ‘as many as nine people.’
According to the police report, Morant and his friends refused to leave the parking lot when confronted by the director of mall security.
Morant released a statement saying he will be taking some time away to receive help
An alleged incident last summer took place at Morant’s mansion outside Memphis (pictured)
Police arrived and a ‘verbal confrontation’ reportedly escalated before someone in Morant’s entourage allegedly pushed the security chief in the head.
‘As the group was leaving the premises … Ja Morant said, “Let me find out what time he gets off,”’ police wrote in the report.
Furthermore, following the Grizzlies’ game vs. the Pacers on January 29, members of Morant’s entourage ‘aggressively confronted’ some in Indiana‘s traveling party – and pointed a red laser at them.
The Athletic said Morant was riding with friend Davonte Pack and another person in an SUV when a red laser was pointed at the Pacers bus.
Two people who spoke anonymously to the outlet said they believed the laser was attached to a gun, while an Indiana security guard nearby claimed ‘that’s 100 percent a gun.’
However, it has not been confirmed if the laser was attached to a weapon. The incident led to a league investigation, and seems to have shook up those who were involved.
‘We felt we were in grave danger,’ one person present said.
Grizzlies’ Morant was seen pretending to shoot a gun in celebration during a game this week
