The Ja Morant saga took another turn for the worst over the weekend. The Memphis Grizzlies superstar has gotten himself into trouble once again by brandishing what appears to be a gun in an Instagram live video.
There has been plenty of backlash, and deservedly so. Morant was the subject of negative headlines throughout the season, which were compounded by his team’s failures in the playoffs.
JJ Redick Questions Punishment For Ja Morant
JJ Redick got heated on First Take this morning
“WHY ARE WE TRYING TO LAY DOWN THE HAMMER ON A 23-YEAR-OLD WHO DIDN’T BREAK A LAW? EXPLAIN THAT TO ME !”
(h/t @awfulannouncing )
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) May 17, 2023
It was thought that the worst was behind him. It has been over two months since the incident with the gun in the Colorado club, and Morant supposedly worked on himself by going to a sort of rehab afterward. He rejoined the team for the final handful of regular season games, and was available for the first round series against the Lakers.
So the newest video of Morant comes as somewhat of a surprise, given that he assured NBA commissioner Adam Silver that his behavior would change. Silver said on Tuesday that he was shocked by the surfacing of the footage. He and Morant had spoken at length about the severity of the situation the first time around, and there is expected to be a harsher penalty than the 8 games that was handed down previously.
Redick Compares Morant’s Situation With Current Politicians
There are rumors floating that the league could ultimately suspend Ja Morant for half of the 2023-24 NBA season. There are some who believe that that punishment would be too harsh, and ESPN’s JJ Redick is one of them.
In an emotional and powerful speech, Redick questioned the punishment, while reiterating that he was not condoning Morant’s actions:
“All of these things have been investigated, and no law has been broken. I’m not condoning the behavior… There should be consequences. You are the face of the league. You are a role model to kids, all of that. I don’t think a half a season is the right answer.”
Redick finishes his spirited monologue by talking about the politicians who face no consequence when telling citizens to buy more guns, or they themselves brandishing AR-15s on their family’s Christmas cards.
“There’s no consequence for that. So why are we trying to lay down the hammer on a 23-year old?”
The NBA will have plenty of time to investigate, as the Grizzlies season will not begin until late October.
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