From current and former athletes to NBA fans – everyone’s talking about Memphis Grizzlies’ star Ja Morant‘s current controversial situation.
Morant was seen flashing a gun on Instagram Live last week, the second exact situation of its kind for the NBA star.
Just a few short months ago, the first time led Morant to an eight-game suspension and spending two weeks in a counseling program in Florida. After promising NBA Commissioner Adam Silver that he would make better choices moving forward, this second gun-flashing IG Live incident has everyone talking.
Richard Jefferson Shared A Story About How His Kids Feel About The Incident
When Malika Andrews of ESPN asked former NBA player and current sports analyst Richard Jefferson about his reaction to Morant’s second IG Live incident, he explained his children’s reactions instead.
“My reaction, I won’t tell you my reaction. Guns have been a sensitive subject in my house for some past prior things, and so I was very quick; I was about to turn off the channel because I was watching the pre-game and I knew about the news, and I was going to turn it off quickly, but then I was like I’ll let it play,” he said. “Because I didn’t want my kids to hear that a guy they know was playing with guns, and so I was like, let me leave it on.”
He then explained that his 6-year-old son started to talk about Morant, saying he’s perfect before getting into the topic of the situation. Jefferson explained to his son that he was currently in trouble because “he was playing with a gun.”
His kids then asked why he would do that, and Jefferson showed them the IG Live video. The conversation continued with his son saying that was a wrong decision on Morant’s part, and the questions kept coming from the kids to their dad, wondering why Morant would choose to do such a thing.
“Son, you are 6, you are eight, and you can recognize that this is a terrible decision, so I don’t know,” he continued.
“I sit up here with my experience as a 43-year-old man. Jalen Rose is going to sit up here, and a damn six and 8-year-old can look at what they were watching on television and see it on social media, and I wanted to show it to them because we have very no guns; we don’t play that in our house. I don’t let my kids play with any guns. We know those rules in black households; we don’t play with guns. So for my six and 8-year-old kids to recognize and look at me in utter confusion, I don’t know.”
He concluded his rant, which probably most, if not all, parents would wholeheartedly agree with, by saying if his kids can see that his decision was terrible, there’s “no analysis for me to breakdown. It’s beyond any analysis.”
Jalen Rose Also Had Some Things To Say About The Situation
Former NBA player and current sports analyst Jalen Rose had the opportunity to sit down with Morant for an interview after his first gun on the IG Live incident. Now that the second incident had happened, he had a few things to add.
“What I gather is, sometimes it takes young people longer to get the message, and usually that message comes into a stiff punishment,” he said.
“What’s gonna now happen is it not only affects you clearly as an individual, but this gonna affect their entire off-season, their draft, their pre-season, and the start of next season.”
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Rose also said that many blame the people around Morant, but once drafted into the NBA, you become the CEO, and many of those people become your employees.
“And as a professional athlete, we all know we’re required to be role models whether we accept that or not,” he said. “If he were in a different profession, maybe an artist or an entertainer, people would look at the video differently and maybe even cheerlead it, but because he works in the NBA and has a corporate job, that’s just behavior you can’t have.”
Golden State Warriors Player Draymond Green Also Spoke About Ja Morant’s Situation
NBA star Draymond Green recently discussed Morant’s situation during a recent episode of “The Draymond Green Show.”
“I saw Adam Silver speak, and Adam Silver looked crushed and sounded crushed. I know he is crushed,” he said. “Because Adam, a players’ commissioner, has been since day one. And so a part of him, I’m sure, is just crushed because he’s like, come on man, as he said, they had a long conversation, and I thought we were past this, and we spoke about it.”
He continued to explain the tough spot this puts Silver in as far as figuring out a punishment.
“It is going to be a substantial one. It will affect the Memphis Grizzlies season,” he continued.
“I’ve had my mistakes, obviously not that, but I’ve had my mistakes. I’m not one to come on here to condemn.”
Green then explained that people who are saying “lock him up” need to understand he didn’t break the law, and they need to stop.
“Was he wrong? Absolutely. I don’t understand why they’re on Instagram Live so much,” he said. “Once you’re in trouble the first time on Instagram Live, you guys probably should stay away from Instagram Live. It hasn’t proven to be beneficial at all.”
He agrees with everyone who said Morant was irresponsible, mainly because he’s building a business. He also talked about the kids and their parents who are watching all of this unfold. The NBA star then broke it down in simple terms.
“Kids drive sneaker sales. Kids’ parents buy shoes. And those children’s parents aren’t impressed with what they’re seeing. So, it’s like, stop it, or don’t build a business,” he said.
“It’s unfortunate that this keeps happening. It’s unfortunate because it’s giving off this gangster-type vibe.”
