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Adam Silver 'shocked' at 2nd Ja Morant gun video; Grizzlies guard says he takes 'full accountability'

jason owens
Staff writer
·2 min read
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Three days after a second video of Ja Morant flashing a gun surfaced on social media, Adam Silver said he was "shocked" by the behavior of the Memphis Grizzlies guard.

The NBA commissioner discussed the situation in a Tuesday interview with ESPN that was part of the network's coverage of the league's draft lottery. Silver told Malika Andrews that he and Morant talked "directly about the consequences" after Morant first flashed a gun in a video that surfaced in March.

That incident compounded with others led to a leave of absence for Morant and eventually an eight-game suspension without pay. Silver said based on a previous discussion with Morant, he believed the Grizzlies guard took the situation seriously. He also said he was "shocked" by the second gun video that surfaced Saturday night.

"Frankly most of our conversation was about how incredibly serious the first incident was of waving a firearm on social media. The consequences there — an eight-game suspension was pretty serious. And something that he, at least to me, seemed to take incredibly seriously in that time. ...

"Honestly, I was shocked when I saw this weekend that video."

Silver cited discussing "safety issues" with Morant — that he could have injured or killed somebody — in addition to the example he's setting for "millions if not tens of millions of kids." He added the league is investigating the new video, but that "I'm assuming the worst."

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)
Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)

The NBA announced Sunday that Morant "is suspended from all activities pending league review." The announcement landed a day after Instagram Live video surfaced of Morant flashing a gun from the passenger seat of a car. The gun can be seen briefly in Morant's left hand at the 13-second mark of the video below.

After Silver's interview, Morant issued his own written statement, his first public comment since Sunday's video surfaced.

“I know I’ve disappointed a lot of people who have supported me," the statement read. "This is a journey and I recognize there is more work to do. My words may not mean much right now, but I take full accountability for my actions. I’m committed to continuing to work on myself.”