Police in Colorado investigating alleged gun incident involving Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant
Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant is under fire again after he livestreamed a video of himself on Instagram brandishing an apparent gun at a club in Denver, Colorado, on Friday night.
The Grizzlies played and lost to the Denver Nuggets at the Ball Arena in Colorado on Friday night.
In a statement released Saturday on Twitter, the Grizzlies' public relations team said in response to the incident that Morant would be stepping away from the team for at least two games, including Tuesday night's game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Morant also put out a statement Saturday afternoon addressing the incident and taking responsibility for his actions.
"I'm sorry to my family, teammates, coaches, fans, partners, the city of Memphis and the entire Grizzlies organization for letting you down," the 23-year-old guard said. "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."
Police in Glendale, Colorado, confirmed that the incident took place in a club there, and said they were looking into the matter.
"The Glendale Police Department is aware of the incident circulating on the internet involving an NBA player at a nightclub with a what appears to be a gun in the early morning hours of March 4, 2023," Capt. Jamie Dillon said. "The Glendale Police Department does not comment on ongoing investigations."
This is not the first time Morant has been in the news lately. The Washington Post reported that earlier this week, Morant was accused of threatening mall security in Memphis after his mother got into a disagreement with an employee at Finish Line, a shoe store. The paper also reported that the basketball player was accused of punching a 17-year-old teenager and brandishing a gun during a pickup basketball game.
Morant is a leading player on the Grizzlies with a game point average of 27.1 points per game and six rebounds per game.
The guard was drafted by the Grizzlies as a second overall pick in the first round draft of the 2019 NBA draft.