Seven years ago, Murray State University mens basketball assistant coach James Kane first discovered soon-to-be NBA superstar Temetrius “Ja” Morant in a dusty high school gym in Crestwood Sumter, South Carolina. Kane was on a recruiting trip to scout another player. When he suddenly became hungry, he wandered around the high school, looking for a bag of Doritos and a can of soda before stumbling across Morant in a secluded auxiliary gym. After watching Morant play, Kane was stunned by his athleticism and grit on the court, noting, “just a few minutes watching Ja, you knew he was special.”
Fast forwarding to today, Ja Morant has surpassed everyone’s expectations, reaching NBA stardom in only his fourth year in the league. Leading the Memphis Grizzlies to three playoff appearances in his four years, many have touted him as the future of the franchise. Although Morant’s skill on the court is undeniable, he garnered unwanted media attention after numerous events that would eventually lead to suspension.
On Friday, July 22, 2022, Morant and his friends were engaged in a heated encounter with the head of security in the parking lot at a local Memphis mall. In a police report filed by the head of security, the guard noted that Morant “threatened” him during the altercation, and one of Morant’s friends physically assaulted him.
Although the incident did not lead to any national news coverage, only four days later, on Tuesday, July 26, yet another police report was filed against Morant after he allegedly punched 17 year old Joshua Holloway in the head repeatedly, knocking him to the ground during a pickup basketball game. The defenseless teenager reported that Morant approached him holding a gun in his waistband after the fight, reportedly saying, “[He would] light this place up like fireworks,” referring to potential rapid gunfire.
Despite Morant seeming to settle down when the NBA season started in September, he continued his immature behavior on Wednesday, March 15, 2023. The NBA suspended Morant for eight games after he appeared to flash a gun on an Instagram live stream at a Denver strip club following his team’s regular season loss to the Denver Nuggets. During the stream, a shirtless, seemingly intoxicated Morant raps profanity while dangling a firearm in front of the camera. The NBA, in compliance with the police’s investigation, concluded that the gun did not belong to Morant and did not find enough evidence to charge him with any crime. Following the incident, Morant pledged to take full responsibility for his actions and that he would take some time away to get help. However, the league suspended Morant once more on May 14 after he flashed a gun from the driver’s seat of a moving vehicle while streaming on his Instagram.
At just 23 years old, Ja Morant is one of the most influential athletes in the world, making his reckless actions all the more damaging for him and the surrounding community. Besides costing himself and his team millions of dollars in fines, Ja Morant is not only sending the wrong message to the thousands of fans who buy tickets to his games, his signature shoes and his jerseys, but also to the youth who idolize Morant.
Morant consistently finishes in the top 10 leaderboard in NBA jersey sales and his flashy, athletic play style makes him one of the most popular and influential rising stars in the NBA. But, oddly enough, even though Morant earns a whopping 200 million dollars from his NBA contract alone as well as having enormous brand deals with mainstream brands like Nike, Powerade and Coca Cola, Morant proclaims himself as a “thug,” attempting to fill the persona by flashing gang signs during games and picking fights on social media with gang affiliated groups. Morant needs to acknowledge how damaging his actions can be, as his image perpetuates reckless stereotypes surrounding gun violence, stereotypes that have historically crippled his own Memphis community.
When kids open social media to see Morant flashing weapons at strip clubs, they won’t be intimidated by the “hard” persona that Morant desperately attempts to radiate, but instead will idolize Morant’s criminal behavior due to his superstar reputation. Even NBA commissioner Adam Silver acknowledged how problematic and potentially dangerous Morant’s careless actions can be saying they could have “serious consequences given his enormous following and influence, particularly among young fans who look up to him.” Although the job of an NBA player may be extremely lucrative for many, it comes with an immense amount of privilege, responsibility and maturity, values Morant needs to understand.
The bottom line is that he is not a “thug,” “crook,” “gang member” or “criminal” no matter how hard he tries. At the end of the day, Morant is an exceptionally talented basketball player who has been fortunate enough to leverage his abilities and escape the lifestyle that he so desperately tries to cling to. Morant now has the opportunity to supersede his reputation and become more than an athlete for his community.
