Ja Morant has apologized after being spotted in an Instagram video brandishing a weapon for the second time in less than two months.
NBC News reported that the NBA suspended the Memphis Grizzlies guard from all off-season team activities on Sunday as they investigate the video continuing to make its way across social media. Since then, Morant has acknowledged the disappointment his actions have caused his supporters, asserting that he is committed to working on himself.
“I know I’ve disappointed a lot of people who have supported me,” he said, NBC reported. “This is a journey, and I recognize there is more work to do.”
“My words may not mean much right now,” Morant added, “but I take full accountability for my actions.”
According to ESPN, Morant’s best friend, Davonte Pack, posted the Instagram Live video that surfaced over the weekend. He has reportedly been a party in several off-court incidents that have prompted inquiries from the league office.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver voiced his horror after seeing another social media video showing Morant holding a gun, saying he’s “assuming the worst” amid the investigation.
In March, Morant was suspended for eight games and reportedly lost over $600,000 in salary after being captured on video intoxicated and brandishing a handgun at a Denver nightclub while the Grizzlies were in town to face the Nuggets.
At the time, Silver released a statement describing Morant’s behavior as “irresponsible, reckless and potentially very dangerous.”
Morant enrolled in a Florida counseling program to develop better stress management techniques before traveling to New York City to meet with Silver at the commissioner’s office. While speaking with ESPN about Morant’s second incident, Silver noted that the NBA star seemed to take the situation “incredibly seriously” the first time.
He said that after the March video, they “spoke for a long time about not just the consequences that could have on his career, but the safety issues around it.” Silver said they talked about the fact that Morant could have “injured, maimed, killed himself, someone else with an act like that — and also the acknowledgment that he’s a star.”
The commissioner noted that he and Morant discussed the athlete’s enormous following, acknowledging that millions of children worldwide were watching him.
“The gun wasn’t mine,” Morant said in a statement at the time, NBC reported. “It’s not who I am. I don’t condone any violence. But I take full responsibility. … I can see the image that I painted, you know, over myself with my recent mistakes. But in the future, I’m gonna show everybody who Ja really is.”
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