Ja Morant will not face gun charges; suspension extended

The Glendale Police Department (GPD) in Colorado said there was not enough evidence to charge anyone with a crime after Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant was seen on an Instagram live account displaying what appeared to be a gun at a nightclub on Saturday.

“GPD was not able to determine that probable cause existed for the filing of any charges,” the department said in a release on Wednesday, March 8. 

The GPD said it was made aware of an incident involving “a prominent NBA player singing and holding what appeared to be a firearm by the butt end of a gun” at Shotgun Willies, a local club, and conducted an investigation.

Morant remains suspended for at least the next four games, the Grizzlies announced later Wednesday.

The two-time NBA All-Star previously said he planned to take some “time away” and apologized.

Morant was suspended last weekend for his off-court behavior, including an early Saturday morning video posted online that purportedly shows the star guard brandishing a pistol at a strip club.

The video went up a few hours after the Grizzlies lost on the road to the Denver Nuggets on Friday night. 

Possessing a firearm while under the influence of alcohol is illegal in Colorado, an open-carry state that also prohibits weapons possession on federal property.

“No disturbances were reported, and no citizens or patrons of the club came forward to make a complaint,” the GPD release said. “The investigation also concluded that no one was threatened or menaced with the firearm and in fact no firearm was ever located.

“There was not enough available evidence to charge anyone with a crime.”

The NBA continues to investigate whether Morant brought the weapon on the team charter flight to Denver. Morant would be subject to a 50-game suspension if the league finds that he did.

Morant, 23, remains suspended until at least next Wednesday, when the Grizzlies play at Miami. Their next game after that is March 17 at San Antonio.

One of the faces of the league and a contender for NBA Most Valuable Player, Morant appeared in the video days after a report in The Washington Post said he had been accused of assaulting a teenager and threatening him with a gun after a neighborhood pickup game. 

Less is known about other alleged incidents involving Morant and his family or associates, including alleged threats made to mall security after Morant’s mother was involved in a disagreement at a Finish Line store.

Morant apologized in a statement over the weekend, and his social media accounts were since deactivated.

“I take full responsibility for my actions last night,” the statement read. “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.”

Morant is averaging 27.1 points, 8.2 assists, and 6.0 rebounds in 53 games (all starts) this season. He was named to his second straight All-Star Game.

The Grizzlies host the Golden State Warriors on Thursday. – Rappler.com