Update: Ja Morant Suspended 8 Games by NBA (Could return to court Wed 3/22)

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

Glad he was cleared by the police - they didn't have anything on him. That would have been ridiculous to charge him and gaslight for no reason.

Now time to move on.

Unusually agree with you but I would like to see you Dancing at a strip club with a gun with your shirt off and have the charges dropped. You would get hit with some crime…

Let’s not forget ja got access to the best lawyers money can buy - ja getting that OJ treatment… we know he guilty of at least reckless endangerment- but You know… he rich

I’m not a Ja fan or grizzlies fan by any means but I don’t think you should be able to charge someone without proving it was a gun. I know it was a gun but you’re going down a slippery slope…it’s like the red light traffic tickets. You need an officer to serve you to be hit with a crime. That’s my position. I think the suspension is fine

I don't really get this. If you committed any other crime, video evidence along with witness statements should be enough. I'm tired and only have this horrible example but there was a janitor that rubbed his junk on peoples water bottles. Someone set up a camera to see who was messing with their stuff and caught it. Do you need more proof than the video for that? Lol. If the cops interviewed his friends and they all said it was a gun, fine I agree with you. But that would involve them having to submit false statements (if it was a gun).

[azcatz11]

Unusually agree with you but I would like to see you Dancing at a strip club with a gun with your shirt off and have the charges dropped. You would get hit with some crime…

Let’s not forget ja got access to the best lawyers money can buy - ja getting that OJ treatment… we know he guilty of at least reckless endangerment- but You know… he rich

I’m not a Ja fan or grizzlies fan by any means but I don’t think you should be able to charge someone without proving it was a gun. I know it was a gun but you’re going down a slippery slope…it’s like the red light traffic tickets. You need an officer to serve you to be hit with a crime. That’s my position. I think the suspension is fine

I don't really get this. If you committed any other crime, video evidence along with witness statements should be enough. I'm tired and only have this horrible example but there was a janitor that rubbed his junk on peoples water bottles. Someone set up a camera to see who was messing with their stuff and caught it. Do you need more proof than the video for that? Lol. If the cops interviewed his friends and they all said it was a gun, fine I agree with you. But that would involve them having to submit false statements (if it was a gun).

All good my man. This was a victimless crime so we need something else to prove it was a gun.

[MrGoat]

That'd be hard to prove though. We don't even know if it was his own gun he was posing with, he could easily claim someone in his posse had the gun and lent it to him for the pose (very difficult to disprove yet again, even if the gun is registered to Ja).

I don't know why people act like all these things are so difficult to prove. They are doing an actual police investigation in Colorado, so they'll certainly talk to his hangers on to see what the truth might be.

NBA is also going to talk to his teammates(the cops might want to, as well) and question them about all the stuff that went on.

Even if it may be difficult to meet standards of proof for legal charges, there will be plenty of proof for his employee(the NBA) to throw the book at Ja because they're not held to the same standards of proof.

Right-

Beyond the legal jeopardy, the NBA as a private org can suspend him for as long as needed. The players union wading into this would would have a hell Of a time balancing their social stance on BLM and reconciling Ja flashing a gun and talking about his “ops”…. If they care about credibility the NBA is going to get to the bottom of this at a level beyond the legal burden of truth

Many forget that Aaron Herndez changed things. Leagues can’t ignore “smoke” assuming that the playing demostrating that they are in a gang or a thug isn’t a thug… the smoke has to be assumed or at least investigated as being a fire. Ja has a history of violence with guns- alleged or not… it’s out there now

I think for the NBA Gilbert Arenas is the one they're thinking about. Hernandez wasn't a wannabe gangster like Ja or Gil, he was an actual criminal and didn't parade it around like a complete jackass. The Patriots didn't get the same type of heat for Hernandez that the Bullets, oh I mean Wizards, did over Arenas because they could plausibly act like they didn't know. Arenas was a PR nightmare for the NBA so anything with guns they will be sensitive about. Ja avoiding all criminal charges will still likely help him a lot this time, but he'd better realize that ice is getting pretty thin

[CobraCommander]

I’m not a Ja fan or grizzlies fan by any means but I don’t think you should be able to charge someone without proving it was a gun. I know it was a gun but you’re going down a slippery slope…it’s like the red light traffic tickets. You need an officer to serve you to be hit with a crime. That’s my position. I think the suspension is fine

I don't really get this. If you committed any other crime, video evidence along with witness statements should be enough. I'm tired and only have this horrible example but there was a janitor that rubbed his junk on peoples water bottles. Someone set up a camera to see who was messing with their stuff and caught it. Do you need more proof than the video for that? Lol. If the cops interviewed his friends and they all said it was a gun, fine I agree with you. But that would involve them having to submit false statements (if it was a gun).

All good my man. This was a victimless crime so we need something else to prove it was a gun.

But it was a gun- lol

You and I know it was- ja just has a great legal team and Glendale is operating on the premise that they won’t convict a millionaire athlete for “thuggish behavior on IG with a gun”.

I get why the Glendale is going after Ja… but let’s not act like he didn’t do what he told/showed us he did.

Ja posted so he wanted us to see it and we did

[Lalouie]

spears - "there's things i'm hearing that i'd rather prolly not say"

who knows,,,,but that there is f*****g ominous

and goes on to say his guess is ja doesn't play for the rest of the season

[wco81]

Grizzlies announced he will not play at least the next 4 games.

If he comes back after those 4 games he'd be back on March 17th vs. the Spurs.

[CobraCommander]

I don't know why people act like all these things are so difficult to prove. They are doing an actual police investigation in Colorado, so they'll certainly talk to his hangers on to see what the truth might be.

NBA is also going to talk to his teammates(the cops might want to, as well) and question them about all the stuff that went on.

Even if it may be difficult to meet standards of proof for legal charges, there will be plenty of proof for his employee(the NBA) to throw the book at Ja because they're not held to the same standards of proof.

Right-

Beyond the legal jeopardy, the NBA as a private org can suspend him for as long as needed. The players union wading into this would would have a hell Of a time balancing their social stance on BLM and reconciling Ja flashing a gun and talking about his “ops”…. If they care about credibility the NBA is going to get to the bottom of this at a level beyond the legal burden of truth

Many forget that Aaron Herndez changed things. Leagues can’t ignore “smoke” assuming that the playing demostrating that they are in a gang or a thug isn’t a thug… the smoke has to be assumed or at least investigated as being a fire. Ja has a history of violence with guns- alleged or not… it’s out there now

I think for the NBA Gilbert Arenas is the one they're thinking about. Hernandez wasn't a wannabe gangster like Ja or Gil, he was an actual criminal and didn't parade it around like a complete jackass. The Patriots didn't get the same type of heat for Hernandez that the Bullets, oh I mean Wizards, did over Arenas because they could plausibly act like they didn't know. Arenas was a PR nightmare for the NBA so anything with guns they will be sensitive about. Ja avoiding all criminal charges will still likely help him a lot this time, but he'd better realize that ice is getting pretty thin

Yeah I agree - I’m just saying that teams gotta assume that Any player acting crazy MIGHT be crazy lol.

Will love to see this behind Ja -

[MrGoat]

I don't really get this. If you committed any other crime, video evidence along with witness statements should be enough. I'm tired and only have this horrible example but there was a janitor that rubbed his junk on peoples water bottles. Someone set up a camera to see who was messing with their stuff and caught it. Do you need more proof than the video for that? Lol. If the cops interviewed his friends and they all said it was a gun, fine I agree with you. But that would involve them having to submit false statements (if it was a gun).

All good my man. This was a victimless crime so we need something else to prove it was a gun.

But it was a gun- lol

You and I know it was- ja just has a great legal team and Glendale is operating on the premise that they won’t convict a millionaire athlete for “thuggish behavior on IG with a gun”.

I get why the Glendale is going after Ja… but let’s not act like he didn’t do what he told/showed us he did.

Ja posted so he wanted us to see it and we did

There was no doubt about the gun, you can see it quite clearly in the tmz video. But the gun itself wasn't even the issue legally, it was in a non Denver part of Colorado which is open carry territory so that wasn't even illegal as long as he didn't point it at someone in a threatening manner, which he didn't in the video. The question that was being investigated was whether he was drunk while possessing the gun which was about the only way they could find a way to charge him with something, and the police must not have been able to find any evidence of that in the security footage so Ja is in the clear this time from a legal standpoint. I suspect that is mostly luck on Ja's part because I'm starting to suspect he's as dumb as a box of rocks and likely had no idea he'd picked a perfect part of the country to post something like that and avoid legal trouble but when you get lucky like that you should take advantage of it and avoid putting yourself into a situation like that again.

[Michael Jackson]

I am not saying he didn’t bring it on the plane, but it is just as likely he didn’t. He very easily and realistically could have gotten it at the club as someone else handed it to him. Which makes sense in its own right why he would take the picture. That’s as believable as he has been smuggling guns across the country. I just don’t know that it can be proven outside of who the owner is, and do the police even have the gun? Do they know whose it is? Ja likes hanging out with hip hop artists likely could be from a local crew he was hanging with.

Oddly I am not a gun guy but I have been handed so many guns in my life that people are showing off and it always freaks me out. I am talking about people I barely know (generally customers in their office) like wtf.

Unless Ja was waving it around on the plane though I think it will be damn near impossible that it is going to be proven he brought it on the plane.

Now all that being said dude needs to take the rest of the season off honestly and get his head on straight. Highly doubt this happens though.

I agree with your first part, but Ja is going have to have a police statement and a statement to the NBA. He is going have to explain whose gun it is and where it came from. I don't think "I don't know whose gun it is" is an acceptable answer to be cooperating with the NBA even if it will get him off legally. I believe the NFL has gotten texts from players phones before so wouldn't be shocked if the NBA requests Jas phone to back up the story. Like best case scenario from a NBA perspective is he was holding someone else's gun while drunk. If he wasn't licensed to have the gun does it make it worse? I honestly don't know. Maybe you are right they can't prove anything, but if he isn't being cooperative I could see the NBA throwing the book down.

Oh yeah it’s in the spotlight for sure and there has to be an explanation but no one has the serial number of the gun. He could literally pay someone to say they brought it in the club and it was passed to him as long as he has cooperating witnesses and timelines etc. there are a number of ways to skate on this for him and they may actually be factual, or not. Unless he comes out and says he actually flew with it and was traveling with it I doubt we ever really know the story 100%

I’ll never forget when my boy Scottie Pippen got busted for having a gun.

[lambchop]

I am not saying he didn’t bring it on the plane, but it is just as likely he didn’t. He very easily and realistically could have gotten it at the club as someone else handed it to him. Which makes sense in its own right why he would take the picture. That’s as believable as he has been smuggling guns across the country. I just don’t know that it can be proven outside of who the owner is, and do the police even have the gun? Do they know whose it is? Ja likes hanging out with hip hop artists likely could be from a local crew he was hanging with.

Oddly I am not a gun guy but I have been handed so many guns in my life that people are showing off and it always freaks me out. I am talking about people I barely know (generally customers in their office) like wtf.

Unless Ja was waving it around on the plane though I think it will be damn near impossible that it is going to be proven he brought it on the plane.

Now all that being said dude needs to take the rest of the season off honestly and get his head on straight. Highly doubt this happens though.

I agree with your first part, but Ja is going have to have a police statement and a statement to the NBA. He is going have to explain whose gun it is and where it came from. I don't think "I don't know whose gun it is" is an acceptable answer to be cooperating with the NBA even if it will get him off legally. I believe the NFL has gotten texts from players phones before so wouldn't be shocked if the NBA requests Jas phone to back up the story. Like best case scenario from a NBA perspective is he was holding someone else's gun while drunk. If he wasn't licensed to have the gun does it make it worse? I honestly don't know. Maybe you are right they can't prove anything, but if he isn't being cooperative I could see the NBA throwing the book down.

Oh yeah it’s in the spotlight for sure and there has to be an explanation but no one has the serial number of the gun. He could literally pay someone to say they brought it in the club and it was passed to him as long as he has cooperating witnesses and timelines etc. there are a number of ways to skate on this for him and they may actually be factual, or not. Unless he comes out and says he actually flew with it and was traveling with it I doubt we ever really know the story 100%

I’ll never forget when my boy Scottie Pippen got busted for having a gun.

Yea they can definitely find solutions. The important part is that one of his buddies brought the gun, otherwise the nightclub might actually be in trouble. When it comes to celebrities and their entourage the club could justify not having checked them for weapons due to their VIP status, but if it's some average joes entering with guns on them, it could actually end up being an issue for the club and its image.

But yea Morant can just claim they were all super wasted and he maybe even took some psychedelic shrooms or someone slipped something into their drinks and they just can't remember anything about that night.

[Michael Jordan]

I'm assuming there's no way for them to prove Morant brought a gun to any team related premises - unless a teammate or staff member snitches.

The current precedent is a suspension for the remainder of the season thanks to Arenas and Crittenton.

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

I'm assuming there's no way for them to prove Morant brought a gun to any team related premises - unless a teammate or staff member snitches.

The current precedent is a suspension for the remainder of the season thanks to Arenas and Crittenton.

I'm pretty sure the NFL got text messages in some of their more high-profile cases. Does the NBA have that power? Like all they need is a couple texts from an assistant coach saying "Coach Bob told me Ja brought it on the plane"....NBA interviews Bob and he gives his story with a threat of being fired if he's found lying. The NBA also doesn't have the burden of proof courts have. I'm sure the video and a couple interviews would be enough to warrant a suspension.

That said:
1. I think the simplest answer is it was someone else's gun at the club
2. If Glendale is investigating, the NBA is also off the hook for a little bit if they go light on Ja. He's still a ticking timebomb, but the NBA can't do a 'thorough investigation' and find no evidence only to have Glendale PD come out a later with a huge report saying Ja flashed this gun to other people, illegally brought the gun into Colorado, evidence of him drinking while holding the gun, etc. Without that risk, I feel the NBA may try a softer behind the scenes approach where he gets a stern talking to but on the court in a week.

[gambitx777]

Just say the pictures and video the strip club released.
One kind of **** of them to take a pay day from tmz when he clearly dropped paper there.
Two I'm sorry that's just a young fella enjoying his money with a young lady who by all accounts is there on her own free will making money and probably paying off a loan or 12.
The thug stuff sure flame him. But the picture with the strippers. Leave the kid alone.

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using RealGM mobile app

[dlts20]

I'm never the type to count others pockets but spending 50k at the strip club is insane to me. I can't believe guys in our culture do this all the time with their money. Even if I wanted to go, I would go in a disguise so people can think that I'm a regular person and just throw $500 at most. The girls will still appreciate it

https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2023/03/11/inside-ja-morants-50k-gun-toting-booty-bender-at-strip-club/amp/

[azcatz11]

I'm never the type to count others pockets but spending 50k at the strip club is insane to me. I can't believe guys in our culture do this all the time with their money. Even if I wanted to go, I would go in a disguise so people can think that I'm a regular person and just throw $500 at most. The girls will still appreciate it

https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2023/03/11/inside-ja-morants-50k-gun-toting-booty-bender-at-strip-club/amp/

How much experience with women do you have, out of curiosity?

[Phish Tank]

Just say the pictures and video the strip club released.
One kind of **** of them to take a pay day from tmz when he clearly dropped paper there.
Two I'm sorry that's just a young fella enjoying his money with a young lady who by all accounts is there on her own free will making money and probably paying off a loan or 12.
The thug stuff sure flame him. But the picture with the strippers. Leave the kid alone.

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using RealGM mobile app

more importantly, that strip club ain't getting no more VIPs (especially athletes) if they're leaking photos to TMZ or the New York Post.

Truth be told, had Ja waited a few extra weeks, he'd get more cover and respect blowing 50k at Magic City. There, they'll take photos, but at least you won't be photographed in VIP and you won't get blasted for going there. Also, you'll have protection there anyways and you won't be taking out a gun there, for obvious reasons.

[rtiff68]

Just say the pictures and video the strip club released.
One kind of **** of them to take a pay day from tmz when he clearly dropped paper there.
Two I'm sorry that's just a young fella enjoying his money with a young lady who by all accounts is there on her own free will making money and probably paying off a loan or 12.
The thug stuff sure flame him. But the picture with the strippers. Leave the kid alone.

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using RealGM mobile app

It’s not about being at a strip club or getting a lap dance. Who cares?

It’s about getting photographed at a strip club shirtless while getting a lap dance while you’re suspended from your extremely high profile job for off-work behavior.

Ja has more than enough money to pay a stripper to come to his house. Being so dense that you don’t realize how terrible the optics are here is the real issue, not the fact that he went to a strip club.

[KokoKaizer]

I'm never the type to count others pockets but spending 50k at the strip club is insane to me. I can't believe guys in our culture do this all the time with their money. Even if I wanted to go, I would go in a disguise so people can think that I'm a regular person and just throw $500 at most. The girls will still appreciate it

https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2023/03/11/inside-ja-morants-50k-gun-toting-booty-bender-at-strip-club/amp/

How much experience with women do you have, out of curiosity?

Don't do this please, he's well known on this board

[Pointgod]

Just say the pictures and video the strip club released.
One kind of **** of them to take a pay day from tmz when he clearly dropped paper there.
Two I'm sorry that's just a young fella enjoying his money with a young lady who by all accounts is there on her own free will making money and probably paying off a loan or 12.
The thug stuff sure flame him. But the picture with the strippers. Leave the kid alone.

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using RealGM mobile app

Yeah I can’t bring myself to care about the strip club other than him being dumb enough to flash the gun on social media.

[Nate505]

The whole carpeting the room with $100 bills thing seems ridiculously trashy to me, almost to some sort of parody level, but hey, it's his money.