Ja Morant broke his silence Tuesday night after brandishing what appeared to be a gun on an Instagram Live video for the second time in three months. The video surfaced online early Sunday morning.
The Memphis Grizzlies suspended Morant from all team activities on Sunday, meaning he’s unable to work out at the facilities. This comes after Morant served an eight-game suspension after his previous gun incident on March 4.
“I know I’ve disappointed a lot of people who have supported me,” Morant said in a statement. “This is a journey and I recognize there is more work to do. My words may not mean much right now, but I take full accountability for my actions. I’m committed to continuing to work on myself.”
Morant missed out on a chance to earn more than $39 million more in incentives when he was left off the three All-NBA teams last week. Many people believe his suspension and off-the-court issues factored into why he didn’t achieve the honor.
When the Grizzlies lost in the first round against the Los Angeles Lakers, Morant noted that his off-the-court discipline needed to improve as he worked on his leadership. Two weeks later, the Instagram Live video from Morant’s friend Davante Pack’s personal account surfaced online.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver spoke publicly for the first time Tuesday about Morant’s second gun incident, and his comments didn’t sound promising for Morant’s chances to be available at the beginning of next season.
“We’re in the process of investigating it, and we’ll figure out exactly what happened to the best we can,” Silver said. “The video is a little grainy and all that, but I’m assuming the worst. We’ll figure it out exactly what happened there.”