Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant willingly made himself the NBA’s latest face of controversy.
The 23-year-old All-Star, who was already an alleged suspect in an incident involving a firearm and the attack of a minor, elected to further test his luck. After the Grizzles fell to the Denver Nuggets on Friday, Morant brandished a firearm live on Instagram while at what appeared to be a nightclub.
This unfathomable act of stupidy rightfully earned him a two-game suspension from the Grizzlies and forced an apology from Morant, who can’t seem to let his cringe-worthy act go. And to make matters worse, the boneheaded act from Morant was followed by an even more ridiculous justification from former Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce.
“I don’t care what y’all say about Ja I carried a gun after I was stabbed y’all don’t know what he going thru everyone got something to say until u really know what’s really going on in someone else’s life when you black and rich u a target period,” Pierce tweeted Sunday.
Pierce is no stranger to hot takes, evident through his brief stint as an ESPN analyst a few years back.
And while there’s no room to argue a few points raised by Pierce, particularly the target on the back of a wealthy Black individual in America, it’s a misplaced argument. Morant has made it clear that his antics are an aim at garnering a reputation that’s a misrepresentation of him. Similar to boxing amateur Jake Paul, Morant wants to walk around with a label that doesn’t suit him.
Stooping to a low-brow flex begs a more than justified questioning of Morant’s motives.
Now, for those unaware, Pierce references an attack that he experienced during his rookie season with the Celtics back in 2000. Pierce was stabbed multiple times while at a nightclub in Boston, which required lung surgery. And however the now 45-year-old goes about self-defense is completely his choice, with nobody entitled to a say as long as Pierce abides by the law.
However, this isn’t Morant’s case.
This isn’t a debate on fundamental civil rights. To be clear, Morant has the right to own a firearm if he so wishes. But like Morant, the NBA and the Grizzles have the right to discipline him if his actions with a firearm are deemed irresponsible. And that’s what Pierce fails to understand. Had Morant never publicly flashed his firearm, how would the public have any room to scrutinize him? Would watching an individual do what Morant did lead the general public to jump to the whole self-defense angle of the argument?
Brandishing a firearm while dancing at a night-club shirtless like he’s dropping his debut SoundCloud album has no relation to self-defense whatsoever. It’s an attention seeker and an instigation tactic. It’s a social media attention generator that Morant didn’t invent. With a contract north of $200 million plus a debut signature sneaker with Nike, Morant is held to a higher standard regarding his off-court conduct.
With a pending investigation from law enforcement, it seems as though Morant might not be “fine” in the Western Conference like he previously suggested.
