MAY 17: After Silver spoke to Andrews on Tuesday, Morant issued a statement through his representatives addressing the recent viral video, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.
“I know I’ve disappointed a lot of people who have supported me,” Morant said. “This is a journey and I recognize there is more work to do. My words may not mean much right now, but I take full accountability for my actions. I’m committed to continuing to work on myself.”
MAY 16: In a TV appearance at the draft lottery Tuesday evening, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he was “shocked” by the latest incident of Ja Morant appearing to waive a gun on social media, he told ESPN’s Malika Andrews (Twitter video link).
“Honestly, I was shocked when I saw this weekend that video,” Silver said. “Now, we’re in the process of investigating it, and we’ll figure out exactly what happened to the best we can. The video is a bit grainy and all that, but I’m assuming the worst.”
The incident came less than two-and-a-half months after Morant flashed a firearm at a Denver-area strip club while streaming on Instagram Live. That video, which immediately prompted an investigation from the NBA, eventually led to an eight-game suspension.
“We talked directly about the consequences first,” Silver said of his conversation with Morant following the first incident (hat tip to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon). “Before we got to a subsequent potential to have done something wrong, we were very focused on the misconduct that was in front of us at the time. Frankly, most of our conversation was about how incredibly serious the first incident was of waving a firearm on social media.
“Again, the consequences there — an eight-game suspension — was pretty serious and something that he, at least to me, seemed to take incredibly seriously in that time. And we spoke for a long time about not just the consequences that could have on his career, but the safety issues around it — (Morant) could’ve injured, maimed, killed himself, someone else with an act like that — and also the acknowledgment that he’s a star.
“He has an incredibly huge following, and (we discussed) my concern — and I thought he shared with me — that millions, if not tens of millions, of kids globally would have seen him do something that was celebrating in a way that act of using a firearm in that fashion.”
Morant’s live stream in March was part of a series of troubling off-court incidents allegedly involving the 23-year-old, who punched a 17-year-old during a pickup game last summer, was accused of threatening a security guard at a Memphis mall, and was reportedly involved in a confrontation with members of the Pacers’ traveling party after a January game.
Morant didn’t face any criminal charges for the March incident and almost certainly won’t face any for this video either, but the NBA has significant latitude to fine or suspend its players for conduct it deems detrimental to the league.
The most recent reporting has indicated that Morant, who was suspended from all team activities by the Grizzlies after the latest video, is likely to face a much harsher punishment this time around.