Ja Morant deactivates Twitter, Instagram accounts and apologizes after gun video
Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant deactivated his Twitter and Instagram pages on Saturday afternoon after the team announced that he would be away for at least the next two games.
Morant, who is an active user on both social media platforms, uses the apps for personal thoughts as well as branding. He recently became Powerade's first athletic partnership in more than five years, and Morant's Nike Ja 1 sneaker is expected to be released on April 1.
The two-game absence was announced by the Grizzlies after the NBA announced that it was opening an investigation into a video where Morant purportedly held a handgun inside a nightclub on an Instagram Live video posted to his personal account. The Instagram live video started at 4:19 a.m., which was a little more than four hours after the Grizzlies lost to the Denver Nuggets 113-97 on Friday night.
OPINION:Ja Morant acted like a petulant child. The Memphis Grizzlies couldn't ignore it anymore | Giannotto
After deactivating his accounts, Morant released a statement apologizing for "my actions last night."
"I take full responsibility for my actions last night," Morant said in a statement, according to ESPN. "I'm sorry to my family, teammates, coaches, fans, partners, the city of Memphis and the entire Grizzlies organization for letting you down...
"I'm going to take some time away to get help and work on learning better methods of dealing with stress and my overall well-being."
INVESTIGATION: NBA investigating Ja Morant social media video flashing apparent handgun in nightclub
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GIANNOTTO:Ja Morant has a choice. Everybody's watching to see which one he makes. | Giannotto
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Ja Morant deactivates Twitter, Instagram accounts after gun video
