Report: Ja Morant recorded video with toy gun after second IG Live incident

After the second Ja Morant video with the Grizzlies guard brandishing a gun surfaced, the NBA star reportedly sent a video of a toy gun to people close to him.

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant has been suspended for 25 games in the 2023-24 NBA season as punishment for a second video that emerged showing the star brandishing a gun.

Weeks after the video went viral after initially being seen on Instagram Live, Morant’s representatives tried to convey the message that the gun that the Grizzlies star was holding was actually a toy gun. Admittedly, that seemed like a lame defense at the time.

This weekend after Morant’s suspension was handed down, though, TMZ acquired a video that was reportedly sent to people close to Morant that shows the “toy gun” is actually a lighter, which can be seen lighting a pair of candles in the video by a hand that is assumed to be Morants.

Ja Morant video with toy gun reportedly sent after second IG Live incident leaked by TMZ

TMZ did note that the forearm tattoos seen in the video with the lighter that resembles a firearm match those of Morant.

Morant reportedly sent the video to people close to him as a pseudo-defense of the infamous IG Live video after he came under such scrutiny, which was warranted given that it came just two months after the Grizzlies star was suspended for eight games for having a firearm in a Denver-area nightclub and was caught on video.

Even if this video seemingly corroborates the story from Morant and his team, it still doesn’t lessen the lapse in judgment on his part. For a player who has said publicly in statements (after both IG Live incidents) that he’s trying to be better and do better, that’s a careless “toy” to have on your person.

Having said that, this video leaked by TMZ does help to shed some more light on the situation at hand.