The Memphis Grizzlies are actively working on preventative measures to help contain their players’ nightlife and recent incidents resulting from it, personified in the figure of Ja Morant. As reported this Wednesday, the NBA has suspended the point guard with eight games after he shared a live broadcast from a Denver nightclub in which he was seen carrying a weapon.
Both the police investigation and the one carried out by the league found no motives for the crime, in the first case, nor could it prove that the weapon belonged to the player or that he had traveled to Denver with it. At the same time, Morant publicly apologized and claimed to have learned from mistakes, something that only time will determine.
In any case, the franchise will also take action on the matter while sharing its unconditional support for its star. According to the medium The Athletic, the organization has decided that the team leave the city immediately after the away games to avoid the proliferation of “night habits”. According to said medium, this resolution was already applied promptly during the course, but now it will be intensified and it is not ruled out that it is accompanied by other additional measures.
The Grizzlies remain in third place in the Western Conference with a 41-27 record despite Morant’s absence and recent delicate injury losses. Even so, the balance of the team away from home returns a negative 13-22 that several ‘insiders’ of the Grizzlies have attributed to the lack of maturity and focus that emanates from Morant.
Thus, everything indicates that the sanction against Morant supposes an initial slap on the wrist that will be accompanied by preventive measures and a much greater sanction in the event that the player reoffends in the short term.
(Cover photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
