Ja Morant Reveals Gun In Video Wasn’t His Ahead Of 8-Game Ban

Ja Morant has revealed that the gun seen in his infamous Instagram video wasn’t his.

During an interview with ESPN, Morant was asked about the video of himself holding up the weapon in a Colorado nightclub. Ja, 23, explained what happened that night, revealing additional details about the firearm.

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“The gun wasn’t mine,” he said. “It’s not who I am. I don’t condone any type of violence, but I take full responsibility for my actions. I’ve made a bad mistake. I can see the image that I’ve painted over myself with my recent mistakes. In the future I’m gonna show everybody who Ja really is, what I’m about, and change this narrative.”

As he continued, the NBA superstar explained that going to nightclubs were a part of his “escape,” where he tends to mentally destress. However, he expressed that the incident was one he didn’t want to define his character.

“Honestly, I feel like we put ourselves in that situation with our past mistakes, and now it’s only right that we focus in and lock in on being smarter and more responsible, holding each other accountable for everything,” Morant said, disclosing that he’s aware of the consequences his actions can have on his future. “I feel like in the past we didn’t know what was at stake. And now finally me having that time to realize everything, have that time alone, I realize that now.”

“I realize what I have to lose, and for us as a group, what we have to lose. It’s pretty much just that being more responsible, more smarter and staying away from all the bad decisions.”

As for No. 12’s suspension, the National Basketball Association has decided that the player will be away from on-court action for eight games. The newly updated suspension will include games he missed away from the Memphis Grizzlies over the previous week.

Adam Silver, the NBA’s commissioner, met with Morant before his ESPN interview and decided the eight-game moratorium was fair due to the player’s actions being “irresponsible, reckless, and potentially very dangerous.”

“It also has serious consequences given his enormous following and influence, particularly among young fans who look up to him,” Silver said.

“It was good — pretty much an open discussion,” Morant said about meeting with the commissioner. “Obviously, he said things I need to be better at, but more of just showing his support towards me. I accepted that, and I also sent my apologies to everybody — to the league, myself, my teammates, my family for putting that negativity towards all of us with a bad decision.”

During his time away from the game, Morant has since entered a Florida counseling program to “get help and work on learning better methods of dealing with stress and my overall well-being.”

Ja Morant will be eligible to rejoin his Grizzlies squad on Monday (March 20) during their match against the Dallas Mavericks.

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