Ja Morant Suspended By League: “I made a bad mistake”
Memphis Grizzlies’ superstar Ja Morant has been suspended for eight games, for “conduct detrimental to the league,” the NBA announced Wednesday. Morant is being suspended for waving a gun on Instagram live in a nightclub outside of Denver.
Morant admitted that he needs help, checking himself into a counseling program in Florida this week. At the time of his admittance, there was no timetable on how long he would be off the basketball court. The league settled on eight games for the $231 million dollar point guard, keeping him out until March 31st.
“It’s not who I am. I don’t condone any type of violence,” Morant said when sat down with ESPN’s Jalen Rose on Wednesday.
“I take full responsibility for my actions. I made a bad mistake. And I can see that image that I painted over myself. I’m going to show everyone who Ja really is, what I’m about, and change this narrative,”
The full interview will air on SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt.
Overall, Morant says that he is feeling better mentally. He also cited his daughter in the interview, saying that if she can admit she has bad days, then so can he.
Morant seems apologetic and it seems like the help that he is receiving from whatever counseling he is getting in Florida is working. I hope the best for Morant, but recently he has been acting entirely out of line. I trust that he understands this and begins to control his actions. In any event, this whole situation is ugly. The Grizzlies are paying Morant way too much money for him to act this badly out of line.
The league was able to make a final decision after determining that the gun Morant was toting in the video was in fact not his. Had the gun been Morant’s, things could have gotten ugly. That would mean he brought the gun on a team plane, a violation that earns a 50+ game suspension from the league.
The Grizzlies need Morant down the stretch, but they might be okay without him. They are still the two seed in the Western Conference and have gone 3-3 since Morant’s absence. Memphis will be without Morant for a total of 13 games. Hopefully, Ja Morant being suspended will help him learn a lesson. The Grizzlies certainly hope so.
***
SUBSCRIBE to the Vendetta YouTube Channel!
SHOP for Vendetta Merch!
SUPPORT Vendetta on Patreon!
CLICK HERE for our other NBA Coverage!
