Basketball: Grizzlies star Morant accused of punching teen, agent says incident 'self-defence'
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Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies has been accused of punching a teenager during a game in the player's Tennessee home in July 2022.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LOS ANGELES – Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant was accused in police reports last year of punching a 17-year-old, American media reported on Wednesday, with his agent saying the rising National Basketball Association star acted in self-defence.
No criminal charges were filed against Morant in the incident, which took place during a pick-up basketball game at Morant’s Tennessee house in July 2022.
In police records obtained by the Washington Post, the unnamed teenaged boy accused Morant of punching him “12 to 13 times” during the game. The punches left a “large knot” that was visible to officers.
In interviews with police, the teen said that after their altercation, Morant went into his house and “re-emerged with a gun visible in the waistband of his pants”.
It began when the two got into a verbal altercation that became heated, resulting in the teen hitting Morant in the face with the basketball, something the teen claimed was accidental.
Morant told police he “swung first” but felt he was acting in self-defence after the teenager threw a basketball and later made a comment that Morant found threatening.
Morant’s agent Jim Tanner strongly denied in a statement issued on Wednesday that the player had a gun.
“The July 26 incident was purely self-defence,” Tanner said in a statement that was posted on Tandem Sports and Entertainment’s Twitter feed.
“Again, this was fully investigated by law enforcement, they came to the decision not to charge Ja with any crime.
“Any of the dozens of witnesses will confirm Ja acted in self-defence and that he did not have a firearm.”
Days before that incident, the head of security at a Memphis mall told police he felt “threatened” by Morant and a group of his associates after an incident in the shopping centre’s carpark.
The security guard claimed to have been pushed in the head by members of Morant’s entourage in the carpark after asking them to leave, per the Post report.
That incident began when Morant’s mother got into a dispute with a store employee inside the mall, per the report. She called Morant, who then showed up with as many as nine friends.
Morant said, “Let me find out what time he gets off,” per the Post, citing the police report. The guard filed the report, saying he felt threatened, but no charges were filed.
TMZ reported in January that the teenager and his mother had sued Morant, and Tanner called it “disturbing that unsubstantiated rumours and gossip are being put out by people motivated to tear Ja down and tarnish his reputation for their own financial gain”.
Morant, the second overall pick in the 2019 draft and a two-time All-Star, was embroiled in controversy in early February, when the NBA investigated allegations by the Indiana Pacers that Morant’s entourage “aggressively confronted” members of their travelling party, possibly pointing a red laser at them. AFP, REUTERS
