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Ja Morant has reportedly filed a countersuit against a teenager who claims the Memphis Grizzlies superstar showed off a weapon after a physical altercation between the two last summer.
Morant and the boy fought one another during a pickup basketball game at Morant’s residence after sharing hard passes to one another to check the ball in. The boy’s return pass slipped out of his hands and hit Morant in the face.
The star guard is claiming the pass could have ended his career.
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Ja Morant #12 of the Memphis Grizzlies during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at FedExForum on February 28, 2023 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Justin Ford/Getty Images)
When the ball struck Morant, he put his chin on the boy’s shoulder and asked a friend, “Do I do it to him?” When the friend replied yes, Morant appeared to punch the boy in the jaw. Morant allegedly punched the boy “12 or 13 times,” and his friends added “four or five” more strikes.
After the fight, the boy, according to Morant, said he was “going to come back and light this place up like fireworks.” Morant then filed a police report about the boy’s comment, citing threats made to his family. That’s when Morant came back outside with a gun, according to the teen, but Morant says that is a claim that is untrue.
The teen “lied to the police about Morant brandishing a weapon and that the key details of the once-sealed case were leaked to the media in violation of a court order,” the countersuit says.
Ja Morant #12 of the Memphis Grizzlies celebrates his three-point basket against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first quarter of the game at Target Center on November 30, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (David Berding/Getty Images)
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Morant admitted he “swung first” but said he acted in self-defense, noting that the boy had become the aggressor by throwing a basketball at Morant’s head and lifting up his pants as a sign of “wanting to fight,” according to the Washington Post.
Shortly after the allegations, Morant filmed himself in a nightclub where he displayed a gun in the video, an act that left him with an eight-game suspension (he ultimately missed nine while he checked himself into a counseling program).
Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) handles the ball in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Portland Trail Blazers Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)
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Morant’s Grizzlies are currently the second seed in the Western Conference and are set to begin a seven-game series against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
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