Press "Enter" to skip to content

NBA suspends Ja Morant for 25 games

June 17, 2023
Image: NBA

NBA just announced that Ja Morant will be suspended for 25 games without pay for conduct detrimental to the league. NBA added that Morant will “be required to meet certain conditions before he returns to play and will be ineligible to participate in any public league or team activities including preseason games.”

“Ja Morant’s decision to once again wield a firearm on social media is alarming and disconcerting given his similar conduct in March for which he was already suspended eight games,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement Friday. “The potential for other young people to emulate Ja’s conduct is particularly concerning. Under these circumstances, we believe a suspension of 25 games is appropriate and makes clear that engaging in reckless and irresponsible behavior with guns will not be tolerated.”

Here’s the official statement from NBA;

Last month, Morant was spotted with what seemed to be a gun on a friend’s Instagram page, which sparked the most recent NBA probe. In preparation for the NBA punishment, the Grizzlies had previously suspended Morant from team activities. Ja Morant on his part release a statement regarding his suspension;

At the same time, National Basketball Players Association find the suspension “excessive” with NBPA Executive Director Tamika Tremaglio’s statement on the suspension of Morant.

The Memphis Grizzlies also released their own statement, saying “We respect the league’s decision to suspend Ja Morant following this latest episode. Our standards as a league and team are clear, and we expect that all team personnel will adhere to them.”

It’s unclear how the suspension will affect the first 25 games of the Grizzlies, even though the team showed that they can hold on their own even without their star player.

Published in Basketball, NBA and Sports