Ja Suspended for 25 Games — Excessive or Necessary ?
Photo by Brandon Dill AP.
On June 16th, Adam Silver announced Morant's suspension for the first 25 games of the 2023-2024 NBA season for flashing a firearm during a live stream on Saturday, May 13th. However, this isn't the first time Ja had an incident like this. On March 4th, he was suspended for the same incident of flashing a firearm at a nightclub in Denver. His suspension lasted eight games all without pay. The league offices soon discovered on May 13, Morant intentionally displayed the gun on the livestream despite his comments and commitment to his change of conduct and actions. Morant has to meet certain terms and conditions before he can resume team and league activities along with his 25-game suspension.
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NBA commissioner Adam Silver released the following statement “Ja Morant’s decision to once again wield a firearm on social media is alarming and disconcerting given his similar conduct in March for which he has already suspended eight games, the potential for other young people to emulate Ja’s conduct is particularly concerning. Under these circumstances, we believe a suspension of 25 games is appropriate and makes clear that engaging in reckless and irresponsible behavior with guns will not be tolerated.”
“For Ja, basketball needs to take a back seat at this time. Prior to his return to play, he will be required to formulate and fulfill a program with the league that directly addresses the circumstances that led him to repeat this destructive behavior.”
Although Adam Silver had strong feelings and reasoning for the suspension of Ja Morant however, the NBPA Executive Director Tamika Tremagilo had different feelings toward the decision. “Ja has expressed his remorse and accepted responsibility for his actions, and we support him unequivocally as he does whatever is necessary to represent himself, our players, and our league in the best possible light. As to the discipline imposed, which keeps him off the court until December and requires some unstated conditions to be met before he can return, we believe it is excessive and inappropriate for a number of reasons including the facts involved in this particular incident, and that it is not fair and consistent with past discipline in our league. We will explore with Ja all options and next steps.”
Two different viewpoints for Ja Morant but at the end of the day the fans and the league needs Ja Morant on the floor. We hope to see the young star bounce back and be better.
