I’m sorry to say it, but Adam Silver and the league office is soft. Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies have dodged a massive bullet as the Grizzlies guard is only going to be suspend for 25 games of the 2023/24 season for violating the NBA’s personal conduct policies.
This situation is only going to get worse given the enablers surrounding Morant.
Ja Morant has officially been suspended 25 games by Adam Silver and the NBA league office for a second offense of recklessly brandishing a weapon and violating the NBA’s personal conduct policies, ensuring the Grizzlies guard will lose over $7M in game salary and be ineligible for awards. However, even with the punishments, I still believe Ja has gotten off lightly.
Now, I don’t want to come off as some sort of callous, uncaring monster who only cares about seeing players get punished, lose sponsorships, and the ability to be nominated for major awards as that’s not only the last thing I want to have happen, but I also don’t think such punishments are necessary for most (key word here) cases.
In most cases, player rehabilitation can come without major financial fines, award disqualifications, and even loss of games. Still, this is a situation that should have seen Morant punished far more harshly.
Not only is this Ja Morant’s second gun violation in a little under two months (at the time of the incident) after already speaking 1 on 1 with Adam Silver, but this kind of conduct is super detrimental to the league’s image and future.
You can’t have one of the Top-10 best players in the league (he made 2nd Team All-NBA in 2021/22) and one of the Top-3 most valuable, marketable young stars being seen waving guns around, recklessly holding firearms, cringely dancing to music promoting guns and drugs and and artist that was arrested (but found not guilty) for illegal gun possession if you want to sell the league on a global basis.
Obviously, there’s nothing wrong with owning a gun or even showing off a gun as the US law allows for an individual to own a firearm (the 2nd Amendment), yet what we’ve seen with Ja Morant isn’t him being a responsible gun owner. He looks like a wannabe thug…which is disheartening to say the least.
And, seeing as he’s being sponsored by Nike and Powerade and is one of the league’s most marketable faces, it’s only reasonable to assume some impressionable, dumb kids will follow his path and try to be “like Ja”.
Moreover, seeing as how he’s most famous in the NBA community and circles (because he’s a basketball player, obviously), it’s also only reasonable to assume young some dumb, impressionable, upcoming NBA superstars will act like Morant and throw away their careers on life-destroying decisions.
Just look at Alabama’s Brandon Miller and how he almost lost a chance to be drafted in the NBA due to just being associated with malicious, harmful individuals.
If you think these predictions will never come to pass, you’re sadly mistaken.
Nevertheless, back to Morant, I would have given him 40 games (all without pay) and the same disqualification from all major awards as the only other gun incident in NBA history, the 50-game suspension for Gilbert Arenas and the 38-game suspension for Javaris Crittenton, had similar punishments.
I know the NBPA would have a fit with that suspension as their job is to ensure players receive the best outcome from all circumstances, but Morant needs to realize his NBA career is in jeopardy before he makes a serious, grave, and irreversible mistake.
But, Adam Silver and the NBA league office obviously felt different and gave him yet another slap on the wrist.
I guess we’ll have to wait and see if Morant makes Silver look like a fool again for trusting him, or maybe Morant has actually got the message that his career is on the line.
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