Morant breaks silence after suspension as NBA commissioner "assuming the worst"
Ja Morant says he takes "full accountability" after being suspended for appearing to flash a gun in an Instagram Live video.
Breaking his silence after being suspended by the Memphis Grizzlies over Sunday's incident – the second time this year he has been seen on social media holding a firearm – Morant acknowledged he had "disappointed a lot of people" with his actions.
Morant was suspended for eight games by the NBA in March after appearing in an Instagram Live video holding a gun in a Colorado nightclub, and the NBA could deliver a much harsher punishment once it concludes its investigation into the latest video.
The clip showed the 23-year-old two-time All-Star in the driver's seat of a car listening to music with a friend while appearing to have a firearm in his hand.
“I know I’ve disappointed a lot of people who have supported me," Morant said in a statement. "This is a journey and I recognize there is more work to do.
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"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.”
Morant – who signed a five-year $193million (£155m) contract last year and has big-money endorsement deals with Nike and Powerade – was quickly suspended by the Grizzlies when the video emerged on Sunday and the NBA confirmed it was investigating the matter.
As well as sitting out eight games following the first incident, Morant said he attended counselling and apologised to the team, its fans and his family for "letting them down".
The Glendale Police Department, which investigated the first incident in Colorado, said: "There was not enough available evidence to charge anyone with a crime".
Ja Morant returned from his suspension to feature in the playoffs as the Grizzlies suffered a first-round elimination by the Los Angeles Lakers. (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who dealt out the eight-game suspension in March and will oversee any disciplinary process that takes place as a result of the latest video, told ESPN he was "shocked" to see the video on Sunday and he is "assuming the worst".
Referencing his conversations with Morant after the previous incident, Silver said: "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.
"Could he have injured, maimed or killed himself or someone else with an act like that? But also the acknowledgement that he is a star and he has an incredibly huge following.
"My concern – and I thought he shared it with me – was that millions if not tens of millions of kids globally see him as having done something that was celebrating, in a way, that act of using a firearm in that fashion.
"I was left with the sense that he was taking this incredibly seriously, so honestly, I was shocked when I saw that video this weekend.
"We are in the process of investigating it and we'll figure out exactly what happened to the best we can and the video is a bit grainy and all that, but I'm assuming the worst. But we'll figure out exactly what happened there."
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On the floor, Morant put together another impressive season with the point guard averaging more than 26 points and eight assists per game, but the Grizzlies were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Los Angeles Lakers.
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