Memphis Grizzlies star guard Ja Morant was seen celebrating a teammate’s shot by pretending to shoot a gun, just hours after a police report disclosed he allegedly flashed a gun at a 17-year-old boy after punching him in the head last year.
New details from police interviews obtained by The Washington Post reveal that the 17-year-old told detectives from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office that the point guard hit him ’12 to 13 times,’ adding that Morant’s friend struck him an additional ‘four to five times.’
Morant, 23, was sued in September for allegedly punching a Tennessee teenager in the face during a pickup game, but he claims he was acting in self defense
Wednesday night, as the Grizzlies took on the Houston Rockets, teammate Desmond Bane drained a three-pointer in front of the Memphis bench.
Morant was hyped up by the shot, but celebrated by pretending to shoot a gun at Bane as he ran up the floor back on defense.
Grizzlies guard Ja Morant was seen pretending to shoot a gun in celebration of a 3-pointer
Memphis easily handled the Rockets, downing them 113-99 as Morant put up 20 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists in the win.
The police report of Morant’s actions drew ire from some members of the media, including Shannon Sharpe – who was involved in a notable altercation this season with members of Morant’s entourage – including Ja’s father Tee Morant.
‘I’ve said it before, Ja, you’re going to have to move differently,’ Sharpe advised. ‘You’re in a different stratosphere now. I just think he needs to conduct himself as a person that’s in that same stratosphere.
‘He portrays that he is like something that he is not … He’s hustling backwards … Ja, just move differently, bruh…
‘I would never give you any advice on how to play basketball, but I would try to give you some advice on how to move,’ Sharpe continued.
‘Let somebody else’s lesson be your lesson … Ja there are a lot of lessons out there for you to learn without having to learn that same lesson through your own hardship, that’s all I would say to him.’
The teenager claimed that as he got up to leave after the fight last summer Morant went into his house and re-emerged with a gun.
Morant allegedly had the weapon visible in the waistband of his pants and had his hand on the gun.
Hours before game against the Rockets, a police report regarding Morant (L) was publicized
The 17-year-old plaintiff claimed he was playing pickup basketball with Morant when the two got into an argument, which quickly escalated. He admits to throwing a basketball at Morant and ‘accidentally’ hitting the 6-foot-2 guard in the face.
Morant and his friend allegedly responded by striking the 17-year-old ‘with a closed fist, knocking him to the ground’ and leaving him with a ‘large knot’ on the side of his head, according to a police report written by deputies who said they observed the boy’s injuries.
Morant ‘continued sticking him while on the ground’ as another person joined in to strike the teenager, who compared the hits to ‘an MMA bout.’
Morant is said to have admitted striking the 17-year-old, but told police he did so in self defense. According to the former Murray State star, the plaintiff also ‘made verbal threats’ and said he was going to ‘light [Morant’s] house up.’
Morant said ‘he and his family were put in fear by the statement.’
In transcripts of the interview with Morant, police brought up the allegation of the NBA star ‘brandishing’ a gun but did not directly ask him if it occurred.
Neither Morant nor his attorneys denied the claim at the time, the records show.
Morant played in game Wednesday, putting up 20 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists
The police did investigate the plaintiff’s claims for several weeks before submitting the case to the district attorney’s office in October. However, prosecutors decided there was not enough evidence to proceed with a case.
TMZ reported on January 3 that the teenager had filed a lawsuit against Morant in September.
The altercation reportedly came just four days after another incident, which had previously not been reported.
According to The Post, last summer, the head of security at a Memphis mall told police that Morant ‘threatened’ him during an altercation in the parking lot.
Morant’s mother reportedly got into a dispute with a employee at a shoe store at the mall and she called her son who arrived shortly after with a group of ‘as many as nine people.’
According to the police report, Morant and his friends refused to leave the parking lot when confronted by the director of mall security.
Police arrived and a ‘verbal confrontation’ reportedly escalated before someone in Morant’s entourage allegedly pushed the security chief in the head.
‘As the group was leaving the premises … Ja Morant said, “Let me find out what time he gets off,”‘ police wrote in the report.
The alleged incident took place at Morant’s mansion outside Memphis
The head of security reportedly wanted to file a report ‘because he felt threatened by the statement from Ja Morant,’ police wrote.
Neither incident was made public at the time and Morant went on the make a strong start to the NBA season with the Grizzlies.
Morant’s agent, Jim Tanner, characterized the allegations as ‘unsubstantiated rumors and gossip are being put out by people motivated to tear Ja down and tarnish his reputation for their own financial gain.’
‘Any and every allegation involving a firearm has been fully investigated and could not be corroborated. This includes the NBA investigation last month, in which they found no evidence,’ Tanner said.
The incident with the teenage boy, Tanner said, ‘was purely self-defense. Again, after this was fully investigated by law enforcement, they came to the decision not to charge Ja with any crime.’
The head of security at a Memphis mall also alleged that Morant ‘threatened’ him last summer
However, controversy followed him again earlier this year after his acquaintances ‘aggressively confronted’ members of Indiana’s traveling party following the Grizzlies’ game against the Pacers on January 29.
According to The Athletic, Morant was riding with friend Davonte Pack and one other person in an SUV when a red laser was pointed at the Pacers bus.
Two people who spoke to the publication anonymously said they believed the laser was attached to a gun, while an Indiana security guard nearby claimed ‘that’s 100 percent a gun.’ However, it has not been confirmed it the laser was attached to a weapon.
The league opened an investigation into the allegation but concluded that it ‘did not corroborate that any individual threatened others with a weapon,’ an NBA spokesperson said.
