Memphis Grizzlies superstar point guard Ja Moran has found himself in some hot water. The NBA All-Star and reigning Most Improved Player of the Year is in a messy situation as more details have emerged from the two police reports that accuse Morant of violent or threatening behavior.
The first incident came with security at a Memphis mall. The altercation had been reported, but there are new details that have emerged about what happened. The incident began in the parking lot when a member of Morant’s group reportedly shoved the head of security in the head, but no arrests were made.
The other incident that has been detailed came four days after the incident at the mall. Involved in this altercation with Morant was reportedly a 17-year-old boy, who was playing pickup basketball at Morant’s house.
The boy claims that Morant punched him 12 or 13 times during a game at his house. The boy also claimed that he was hit so hard by Morant and a friend that it left a large knot on the side of his head. According to Yahoo! Sports, that was observed by police.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Ja Morant & Memphis Grizzlies Updates
The more troubling accusation followed the fight. The boy claims that Morant went into his house and re-emerged with his hand on a gun that was visible in his waistband. When questioned about the incident, Morant claims he was acting in self-defense and did swing first. But, he felt the teenager was the aggressor because he threw a ball at Morant’s head and stepped up to him while pulling up his pants.
The teenage boy has a different account, saying he was checking the ball back to Morant after he had the ball thrown at him hard first and it slipped through his fingers. Morant also claimed that the boy said, “I’m gonna come back and light this place up like fireworks,” and filed his own police report weeks later, saying the boy threatened his family.
Morant’s agent, Jim Tanner, called the allegations against his client unsubstantiated gossip. He released a statement about them to the Washington Post.
“Any and every allegation involving a firearm has been fully investigated and could not be corroborated. This includes the NBA investigation last month, in which they found no evidence,” Tanner said. The incident with the teenage boy, Tanner said, “was purely self-defense. Again, after this was fully investigated by law enforcement, they came to the decision not to charge Ja with any crime.”
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Ja Morant & Memphis Grizzlies Updates
This is at least the third instance that Morant has found himself in the middle of a less-than-desirable situation. His group was alleged to have “aggressively confronted” a member of the Indiana Pacers’ traveling party on January 29th.
Someone from Morant’s SUV later aimed a laser at the staffers as it drove by slowly. A security guard for the Pacers said, “that is 100 percent a gun” in reference to the laser.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Ja Morant & Memphis Grizzlies Updates
This is certainly a troubling trend that hopefully comes to an end sooner than later for Morant. He is one of the young rising stars in the league that the NBA would love to market as one of their faces of the future.
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