Ja Morant Sits For First Interview Since Gun Flashing Scandal

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Ja Morant has broken his silence amid an eight game suspension for his viral gun flashing incident, and he told ESPN’s Jalen Rose that the backlash was a wake-up call.

Yesterday, the NBA announced that Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant would face additional consequences for flashing a gun on Instagram Live after a loss to Denver. The video caused a firestorm of controversy and, Morant was immediately suspended for two games before it was announced that he would be away indefinitely.

On Wednesday, the NBA announced he would be suspended for 8 games without pay for “conduct detrimental to the league.” The announcement came a day after it was announced Morant had entered therapy in Florida to “find better ways to deal with stress.”

Now that Ja Morant has been penalized for his actions, the PR machine has kicked into overdrive.

Sports analyst Jalen Rose recently teased that he would be conducting an interview with the high-flying star, and it didn’t take long for clips to surface online of Morant “taking accountability” and denying the gun was his.

“The gun wasn’t mine,” Morant 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.

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“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.”

Morant went on to reveal he had a one-on-one meeting with NBA commissioner Adam Silver.

“It was good — pretty much an open discussion,” said Morant. “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.”

Luckily, Ja avoided a 50-game suspension for the firearm and beat the allegations of transporting it on the team plane. This seems to be the wake-up call he needed, and now he can continue on the path to becoming the face of the league.