MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant finds himself the subject of controversy yet again after an early morning social media post appeared to show Morant holding a gun inside a club. This latest bit of news comes as Nike is set to release Morant’s first signature shoes, the Ja 1’s, next month. The Grizzlies star guard also just inked an endorsement deal with Powerade.
“We are aware of a social media post involving Ja Morant and are investigating," the NBA said in a statement released Saturday morning. The Grizzlies, too, issued a statement, confirming Morant would be "away from the team for at least the next two games." Morant himself allegedly streamed the controversial video to his Instagram page early on Saturday morning, but it was not archived once he stopped the stream.
This is not the first incident that has happened surrounding the All-Star player. Most recently, Morant has been accused of making threatening statement to a Memphis mall guard last summer, according to a newly obtained police report. Morant’s actions were also investigated by the league after a Jan. 29 incident in Memphis that he said led to a friend of his being banned from home games there for a year. The Indianapolis Star and USA Today cited unnamed sources that reported multiple members of the Pacers had seen a red dot pointed at them, and The Athletic reported that a Pacers security guard believed the laser was attached to a gun.
The NBA confirmed that unnamed individuals were banned from the arena but said its investigation found no evidence that anyone was threatened with a weapon. After losing in Denver last night, the Grizzlies are in Los Angeles today, but will not practice ahead of their game against the Clippers on Sunday night.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
