Memphis Grizzlies player Ja Morant was recently accused of punching and flashing a gun at a 17-year-old boy during a basketball game.
As reported by the Washington Post, the professional basketball player was involved in a situation last summer in which he repeatedly hit a teenage boy during a basketball game that occurred at his own home.
The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office reported that the 17-year-old was at Morant’s house and was punched 12-13 times and even had a “gun visible in the waistband of his pants and his hand on the weapon” in attempts to threaten the teenager.
The athlete claimed he was acting in self-defense, as the teenager previously tried to throw a basketball at his head and was aggressively approaching him. Morant also claimed the boy threatened his family. Following the police report, prosecutors “decided that there was not enough evidence to proceed with a case.”
In the last week, two criminal incidents involving the Grizzlies player have been made to the public. In addition to the teenage assault scandal, Morant was accused of threatening a mall security guard. In a police report filed by the security guard, he claimed he felt threatened by the basketball player and his group of friends after he was pushed to the ground.
Ja Morant’s agency denies involvement in security guard event
However, the NBA player’s agent, Jim Tanner, has since issued a statement that argues the scandal stemmed from “unsubstantiated rumors and gossip” and were “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.
In relation to the incident with the teenage boy, Tanner insisted it was an occurrence of self-defense. The agent explained, “Again, after this was fully investigated by law enforcement, they came to the decision not to charge Ja with any crime.”
Although he has maintained his innocence, Morant was suspended by the Memphis Grizzlies for at least two games after he flaunted his gun on an Instagram live stream. As the NBA undergoes an investigation into the player, the 23-year-old issued a statement after the live stream that read, “I take full responsibility for my actions last night. I’m sorry to my family, teammates, coaches, fans, partners, the city of Memphis, and the entire Grizzlies organization for letting you down.”
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