Ja Morant breaks silence on video featuring weapon, discusses absence in statement

Ja Morant released a statement addressing a social media video featuring him brandishing a weapon, and talked about his upcoming absence.

On Saturday morning, Ja Morant was on Instagram live and flashed what appeared to be a pistol in front of the camera while he was at a club.

The video gained traction on social media in the early morning hours and as the day went on, it got attention from more traditional media and league officials. The NBA was said to be investigating after releasing a brief statement mentioning their awareness of the video. Then, the Grizzlies announced Morant would be away from the team for at least two games.

Morant released a statement hours after the Grizzlies’ announcement.

"“I take full responsibility for my actions last night. I’m sorry to my family, teammates, coaches, fans, partners, the city of Memphis and the entire Grizzlies organization for letting you down. I’m going to take some time away to get help and work on learning better methods of dealing with stress and my overall well-being.”"

Was Ja Morant suspended?

The team lunging first at a statement would indicate his two-game-plus absence is likely team-mandated and thus, a suspension.

Morant’s statement indicates the absence is somewhat mutual, but one has to assume that the absence is at least partially disciplinary, even if Morant agrees with the decision.

When will Ja Morant return?

At this point, we don’t know when Morant will return to play. Morant’s statement above is the clearest timeline we have, and it’s vague on a full period of absence. It doesn’t read as if it’s going to be a very quick process for Morant, though, and it sounds like he and the team don’t know how long it’ll be just yet.

Morant has unfortunately found himself in the crosshairs of controversy either directly himself or by proxy of his friends and family several times this season.