From being an NBA Superstar to being accused of assault, Ja Morant has been living in the weeds lately. Over a month ago, the Memphis Grizzlies star was booked for flashing a gun on Instagram Live and the league called for an eight-game suspension. The NBA termed his actions as detrimental to the league.
However, his acts of violence have been flying under the radar for months. According to the Washington Post, Ja Morant and his mother, Jamie Morant once visited a shoe store owned by Givon Busby. They allegedly threatened to hurt him several times, which made the shopkeeper scared to walk out the doors.
The police officials of Memphis were approached by Busby but they did not register the case with Ja Morant’s name mentioned as the suspect. They even listed Jamie as “unknown” in the records.
Busby had approached the police shaking in fear of what had happened. The Tennessee shop owner claimed that the baller first threatened the head of security at the mall he worked at. Later, Jamie began the issue after he said he did not have a particular sneaker she had asked for.
Busby claimed that Jamie was also upset he helped two white women before her. He told the police, “He’s trying to hurt me,” as Ja had lurked around his store threatening to assault him.
Morant’s reputation in the city has been tarnished due to these issues. Apparently, the Memphis Grizzlies and the police have been working together to sort out the allegations. These incidents went undetected for months by the media and have now blown up ever since being uncovered. During this time, Ja has been working out multiple deals worth millions of dollars.
Ja Morant allegedly physically assaulted a 17-year-old boy
The story didn’t end with Givon Busby. In fact, Ja Morant has been involved in several other incidents. A 17-year-old male named Joshua Holloway called the police on his basketball idol. The teenager looked at the Grizzlies point guard as a mentor and the athlete also often hung out with him off the court. However, things got out of hand one day when Ja lost control of his emotions and lashed out at Joshua.
Holloway claimed Ja Morant missed a pass from him that ended up hitting Morant’s chin. The baller then lost his cool and went on to beat up the boy. On finding out about the incident and who was the suspect, police questioned Joshua several times to be assured that it was Ja. However, this case flew under the radar for over half a year and the police officials closed the case as well. The Holloways asked for $11 million as a settlement.
But Ja Morant narrated a whole other story to the court. He claimed that his actions were a result of self-defense. Officials even claimed that Holloway’s story did not match what the witnesses had told them. Despite this particular story being extremely vague on both sides, Morant’s actions have certainly gone out of hand lately. What’s worse is that officials have been trying to hide the truth and cover up for the athlete rather than hold him fully accountable for his actions.