Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant is once again taking accountability for his actions after a second Instagram Live incident happened this past weekend where he’s seen flashing a gun. This incident occurred just two months after the last, and after Morant promised to be more responsible.
While many were speaking on the controversy and possible outcomes, Morant was quiet. On Tuesday night, he released a statement about the incident.
Ja Morant Released A Statement Regarding His Recent Instagram Live Controversy
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted Morant’s recent statement.
“I know I’ve disappointed a lot of people who have supported me. This is a journey and I recognize there is more work to do,” Morant’s statement reads. “My words may not mean much right now, but I take full accountability for my action. I’m committed to continuing to work on myself.”
After the first incident earlier this year, Morant was suspended for eight games. He spent two weeks at a counseling facility in Florida to learn how to manage his stress in better ways. The NBA star insisted that alcohol was not the problem, and his issue revolved around managing stress.
“I went (to Florida) to counseling to learn how to manage stress,” he said. “Cope with stress in a positive way, instead of ways I ‘ve tried to deal with it before that caused me to make mistakes.”
He apologized for all he’s done and promised to “be more responsible” moving forward.
During all the troublesome issues, which wasn’t just limited to flashing a gun on Instagram Live two months ago, Morant not only jeopardized his NBA career, but also endorsements and partnerships. Powerade has pulled all commercials featuring him, while Nike has yet to release a statement about his Ja 1’s and their partnership together.
Adam Silver Talked About Ja Morant’s Issues Past And Present
NBA Commission Adam Silver spoke about Morant’s past and current situation on Tuesday night.
When asked what he told Morant how much more severe it would be if this type of situation occurred again, Silver talked about their previous conversation after the first IG Live incident.
“Well, we talked directly about the consequences first before we got to a subsequent potential to have done something wrong. We were very focused on the misconduct that was in front of us at the time and frankly, most of our conversation was about how incredibly serious the first incident was of waving a firearm on social media,” he said.
“And again, the consequences there, an eight-game suspension was pretty serious and something that he at least to me seemed to take incredibly seriously in that time.”
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Silver continued to explain that he spoke at length with Morant about the consequences of his actions, not only on his career, but also the safety issues around it, as well as the children that look up to him.
“My concern, and I thought he shared with me, that millions, if not tens of millions of kids globally would see him as having done something that was celebrating in a way. That act of sort of using a firearm in that fashion,” he continued.
“I at least was left with the sense that he was taking this incredibly seriously. Honestly, I was shocked when I saw this weekend that video. Now, we’re in the process of investigating it.”
Silver said while they are investigating the video, he’s “assuming the worst.”
