Jude Magnotti ‘26
EE Sports Columnist
When I woke up on Sunday morning, I was expecting that I would have a semi-normal day. Go down to my favorite breakfast place, grab some pancakes and bacon, then wait till the Sixers-Celtics game starts so I would only have to write about that (and believe me I will). However, instead what I got was waking up to find that for the second time in 4 months Ja Morant has been suspended for flashing a gun on his friend’s Instagram live.
This is a sensitive topic and I don’t mean to portray Morant or the people he hangs out with in a negative light. I simply am going to report on what has happened and explain how it affects the league.
First off, let’s get context on this event to see why it is such a big deal. If you did not know, Ja Morant was previously suspended by the NBA for flashing a firearm on his Instagram live while in a club in Denver. Morant’s career was in jeopardy and many feared that this incident could ruin him permanently.
Lucky for Ja, though, he was able to convince us that an incident like this would never happen again. He took his suspension and picked up right where he left off on the Grizzlies. Unfortunately for the team, this incident caused some chemistry issues between Morant and his teammates. The the 2nd seeded Grizzlies were bounced from the playoffs in the first round.
This was amid the Dillion Brooks drama but that is another article by itself. After the loss, Morant spent many nights out partying and going to clubs but nothing ever happened…until now. The weapon was only visible for barely a second on instagram, but it was too late. Morant was suspended and the Grizzlies put out an official statement saying: “We are aware of the social media video involving Ja Morant. He is suspended from all league activities pending league review. We have no further comment at this time”.
Now this only happened yesterday so the Grizzlies are in shambles right now trying to figure out what to do, and who can blame them? They have been put in an incredibly difficult position. Their 23 year old face of the franchise is in deep trouble and your fans are putting pressure on you to do something about that.
The Grizzlies do need to take action, but if they go extreme, they put their young superstars career at risk. Look in my crystal ball and let’s examine some of the possibilities I see in the future: Possibility A: Morant is simply given a slap on the wrist and receives fines but is clear to start the season with the Grizzlies next year (unlikely). Possibility B: Morant receives hefty fines and is prohibited from all activities with the Grizzlies during the summer and receives a suspension for roughly a month or two before coming back. And finally, Option C: Morant is either released by the Grizzlies or banned by the NBA entirely.
Now, what is important to remember is that this is a repeat offense. The first time this happened Morant really only received a warning. However, now that this has happened a second time I believe a hefty punishment is coming from the NBA. I believe that option C is too extreme, but it is far more likely than option A.
I personally believe that option B is the most likely with maybe a few other things tacked on. If the Grizzlies lose Morant for most of next season, it will be hard for them to make the playoffs let alone be a contender.
However, let’s quickly move away from the Grizzlies. Let’s see how this affects Ja Morant rather than the team. Morant is a talented superstar who just came off his best season averaging 26 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists a game. He led Memphis to the second seed and besides his earlier controversy he is one of the most beloved players in the game. This is why we are so frustrated with him. We know that he is a phenomenal player, and we know that he is a good person. To see him engaging in this type of behavior for a second time is mind boggling for both the media and fans.
Morant had confessed to his mistakes in a very inspiring press conference after his first incident and we were convinced that this would never happen again. Unfortunately, we were wrong. However, was flashing the gun even intentional by Morant? Did he accidently take it out forgetting that they were live? Possibly, but what people are failing to grasp about some of his behavior is that Morant still is a kid. He is only 23 years old and like any young person, his brain is not fully developed and he makes mistakes.
Unfortunately for Morant though, you can not afford to make mistakes in the NBA. Whatever happens, I really do hope that Morant figures this out and gets through this. He is an amazing player and it would devastate the league to lose someone of his caliber. No matter what happens, all we can do is hope that Morant gets through this controversy. But if he doesn’t, don’t be suprised to see Morant out of the league by the next year.