Ja Morant Suspended Again After Flashing Gun In Surfaced Video

Ja Morant has been suspended again for flashing a gun on social media. According to ESPN, the Memphis Grizzlies star was seen in an Instagram Live video on Saturday (May 13) rapping along to a NBA Youngboy song while in the car with his friend, Davonte Pack.

After the Pack throws up a gun sign with his hands, the camera pans to Morant who pulls out a real handgun. Davonte immediately pulls the camera away from the NBA player in what seems like an attempt to not show him with the firearm. The footage has since been deleted.

The Memphis Grizzlies responded to the viral video, announcing that the athlete, né Temetrius Jamel “Ja” Morant, would be suspended from all team activities. “We are aware of the social media video involving Ja Morant,” the team’s official statement read. “He is suspended from all team activities pending league review. We have no further comments at this time.”

The news arrives two months after Morant, 23, was given an eight-game suspension for showing a firearm on camera in a Colorado nightclub. During his previous controversy, he explained that the weapon wasn’t his and didn’t “condone violence.”

“The gun wasn’t mine,” he said in an interview with ESPN. “It’s not who I am. I don’t condone violence, but I take full responsibility for my actions. I’ve made a bad mistake. I can see the image that I’ve painted over myself with my recent mistakes. In the future I’m gonna show everybody who Ja really is, what I’m about, and change this narrative.”

He spoke to the media following the initial suspension and asserted that he would learn from his mistakes. The NBA All-Star also discussed how entering counseling taught him to be “more responsible.” “[I] took that time to better myself, get in a better space mentally. It’s an ongoing process, a continuous process for me. Obviously, I’ve been there for two weeks, but that doesn’t mean I’m completely better. So that’s an ongoing process for me that I’ve still been continuing since I’ve come out.”

Ja Morant and the Grizzlies were eliminated in this year’s first round of the NBA playoffs. The Los Angeles Lakers blew the Grizzlies out 125-85 on April 28, causing the team to do some soul-searching. According to Sportskeeda, #12 blamed himself, citing poor decision-making.

“I’ve just got to be better with my decision-making. That’s pretty much it. Off-the-court issues affected us as an organization pretty much. Just [need] more discipline.”

Ja’s $194 million five-year max contract is set to commence during the 2023/2024 NBA season. If he had made an All-NBA team in the 2022/2023 season, his contract would have been elevated to a “supermax deal.” However, he was not voted to the team, costing him almost “$39 million in future earnings.”

Furthermore, Powerade canned an ad featuring the young superstar following his first gun controversy.

More from VIBE.com

• Stephen Jackson Calls Ja Morant A "Moron" For Flashing Gun On Instagram

• BlocBoy JB Defends Controversial Ja Morant Video: "Guns Are Not Illegal"

• Former NBA Player Kwame Brown Blasts Ja Morant For Second Gun Incident: "You NBA DumbBoy"

Click here to read the full article.