Many NBA fans are not very happy with Ja Morant after his recent off-court activities. As we are all aware, the Memphis Grizzlies star has been playing at a high level this season and has carried his team to now hold the second seed in a competitive Western Conference.
While all of that is well and good, Morant is also creating a somewhat notorious reputation for himself as a thug or gangster and seems to be engaging in physical altercations with random people. Most recently, things escalated after he got into it with a 17-year-old boy during a basketball game.
Now we have found out that the fight got quite intense and could have even turned into a fatal shooting. With that being said, let us take a closer look at what happened and how people are reacting to it.
Is Ja Morant guilty and will he be arrested?
That certainly seems to be the main question on the minds of NBA fans. It seems that Ja and a 17-year-old boy whose name has not been released were playing a basketball game. Things got heated and the boy ended up throwing the basketball at Morant and allegedly creating a hostile environment.
Ja Morant has been accused of allegedly beating up a 17-year-old boy and pointing a gun at him, per @mollyhc
“The teenager told detectives from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office that, after the fight, Morant went into his house and re-emerged with a gun visible in the waistband… https://t.co/1tTX9TxCQw pic.twitter.com/ZgGkyb6HeL
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) March 1, 2023
At least, that was Ja’s explanation for why both he and his friend decided to beat up the boy and hit him multiple times for his behavior. While some of us already knew about this, we have now found out that things escalated even more between both sides during this altercation.
Adam Silver at this point in time needs to stop avoiding this and take action. If there is evidence to this Ja needs to be suspended for this entire season and then we have to see if Ja ends up in jail.
— Randy Oreens (@ItBegins2012) March 1, 2023
Now, more news is coming in that Ja actually had a gun with him and threatened to shoot the boy during the exchange between them. This is turning into a serious issue and could potentially jeopardize the NBA career and legacy that Morant is attempting to build. Fans called out Morant for behaving in this manner, “Arrest and suspend that thug.”
Arrest and suspend that thug
— Dami (@KingDami5299) March 1, 2023
Suspend him now and dont count the last game vs the Lakers
— Ankur (@ankursoni_8) March 1, 2023
Ja managed to defend himself by claiming that the boy was infuriated and made verbal threats along the lines of “lighting his house up.” This is a clear reference to a shootout and caused Ja Morant to feel on edge.
At the moment, the prosecution seems to be agreeing with Ja and does not look like it will be pressing charges on the behalf of the 17-year-old boy. After all, if he threw the ball first, it can’t be overlooked that the boy was an instigator in this event and not a faultless victim.
Since nothing life-threatening really happened and no one was shot, charges are unlikely filed against Morant. Hopefully, he keeps these activities to a minimum and focuses his time and energy on basketball. As opposed to meaningless squabbles with young boys in his backyard.
