More Trouble for Morant: Grizzlies Star Suspended for Firearm

In mid-May, Ja Morant, the two-time all-star player for the Memphis Grizzlies, went on Instagram Live brandishing a gun. The live Instagram video was streamed to Morant’s nearly ten million followers. In response, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver suspended him for eight games without pay.¹[1]Ja Morant Suspended 8 Games Without Pay for Conduct Detrimental to League, NBA.com (Mar. 16, 2023) https://www.nba.com/news/ja-morant-suspended-8-games-by-nba.

A few weeks later, Morant was back on Instagram, via a live video, brandishing another firearm. In response, Adam Silver levied a 25-game suspension that will be served during the upcoming 2023-2024 season.²[2]Everything You Need to Know About Ja Morant’s 25-game Suspension, ESPN.com (June 16, 2023) https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/37864109/everything-need-know-ja-morant-25-game-suspension. Morant stands to lose more than $300,000 per game (or approximately $7.5 million) for this latest suspension.³[3]Id.

There have been those who have questioned the legitimacy of these suspensions, considering the following factors:

First, Ja Morant did not break any laws. In the original video, he brandished his gun in Glendale, Colorado, where the local police department concluded they did not have probable cause to bring formal charges against him.⁴[4]Joe Vardon, Adam Silver: Ja Morant’s Gun Case About ‘Safety”, Not Laws or Politics (June 2, 2023) https://theathletic.com/4576408/2023/06/02/adam-silver-ja-morant-gun-safety-nba/. And the second video took place in Tennessee, a state where it is legal to carry a gun without a permit.⁵[5]Id..

Second, Adam Silver’s punishment is unprecedented for this type of incident. That’s not for lack of a strict league policy on weapons and firearms (see below), but rather for how that policy does not specifically speak to the circumstances surrounding the Morant situation.

Article VI, Section 9 of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), Firearms and Other Weapons, states:

(a) Whenever a player is physically present at a facility or venue owned, operated, or being used by a Team, the NBA, or any League-related entity, and whenever a player is traveling on any NBA-related business, whether on behalf of the player’s Team, the NBA, or any League-related entity, such player shall not possess a firearm of any kind or any other deadly weapon.
(b) At the commencement of each Season, and if the player owns or possesses any firearm, the player will provide the Team with proof that the player possesses a license or registration as required by law for any such firearm.⁶[6]National Basketball Association, Collective Bargaining Agreement (July 2023) https://imgix.cosmicjs.com/25da5eb0-15eb-11ee-b5b3-fbd321202bdf-Final-2023-NBA-Collective-Bargaining-Agreement-6-28-23.pdf.

By contrast, Morant’s Instagram posts took place in states with relaxed firearm laws, and his actions were not league related, nor did they take place at an NBA or league-related facility. He violated no part of the CBA.⁷[7]See Joe Vardon, supra..

This has led to a spirited debate among critics of Morant’s punishment who have questioned whether the Commissioner’s decision was influenced by the pervasive gun culture that is impacting life in America. Critics of the 25-game suspension have opined that Morant’s Second Amendment rights have been violated and his suspensions are unfair and unwarranted.⁸[8]Will Cain (@WillCain), Twitter (May 15, 2023, 5:39 PM). However, it is important to note that the Second Amendment does not apply to private companies or workplaces, which are free to ban guns from their premises and establish personal conduct policies for their employees regarding gun usage.⁹[9]Jan Lee, The Bill of Rights: Speech and Guns in the Private Workplace, triplepundit.com (July 21, 2016), https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2016/bill-rights-speech-and-guns-private-workplace/56931.

Critics of the decision include the executive director of the NBPA, Tamika Tremaglio, who has spoken out against the punishment handed down to Morant, “as to the discipline imposed, which keeps him off the court until December and requires some unstated conditions to be met before he can return, we believe it is excessive and inappropriate for a number of reasons including the facts involved in this particular incident, and that it is not fair and consistent with past discipline in our league.”¹⁰[10]Jelani Scott, NBPA Issues Firm Statement on Ja Morant’s ‘Excessive” Suspension, SI.com (June 16, 2023) https://www.si.com/nba/2023/06/16/ja-morant-nbpa-issues-firm-statement-grizzlies-star-excessive-suspension.

Previous disciplines for firearm related offenses include a 50-game suspension imposed upon Gilbert Arenas for bringing guns into the Washington Wizards’ locker room in an altercation with teammate Javaris Crittenton and mocking the situation by making finger gun gestures at a game.¹¹[11]Where Ja Morant’s 25-game Suspension Lands in NBA History, ESPN.com (June 16, 2023) https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/37767931/where-does-ja-morant-land-list-longest-suspensions-nba-history. Crittenton was suspended for 38-games for his part in the confrontation with Arenas where both players admitted to displaying unloaded firearms in the Wizards locker room.¹²[12]Id..

Proponents of the Commissioner’s decision point out that while not illegal, Morant’s actions are a clear violation of the league’s CBA in which players agree “not to do anything that is materially detrimental or materially prejudicial to the best interests” of their team or the NBA.”¹³[13]Associated Press, Silver: Morant Discipline to be Based on NBA’s ‘Values,’ Not Legal Standard, ESPN.com (June 2, 2023) https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/37783133/silver-morant-discipline-based-nba-values-not-legal-standard. In justifying his decision, at a recent press conference Adam Silver said, “When we have a standard for conduct detrimental, at the end of the day, it’s one based on what we see as the values of this league and what our expectations from our players in terms of the image we’re portraying to our fans, so, it’s not a legal standard. It’s a private organization standard.”¹⁴[14]Id..

And then there are those, like former NBA player and now commentator for ESPN’s First Take, JJ Redick, who ask, why should Morant be severely punished when elected leaders openly and brazenly support the use of firearms without consequence? “There’s no consequence for Texas governor Greg Abbott telling his constituents that they should go buy more guns…there’s no consequence for an elected Tennessee official sending a Christmas card holding AR-15s with his young family, and then there’s a shooting in his very district.”¹⁵[15]Wilton Jackson, ESPN’s JJ Redick Descries Double Standard in Ja Morant Suspension, SI.com (May 17, 2023) https://www.si.com/nba/2023/05/17/espn-jj-redick-decries-double-standard-ja-morant-suspension.

For years, the NBA has been the standard-bearer in the sports industry for finding innovative ways to curb gun violence. Dating back to 1995, then owner, Abe Pollin, voluntarily changed the team name of the ‘Washington Bullets’ to the ‘Washington Wizards’ because of the violent overtone the former name possessed.¹⁶[16]Greg Swarts, Why the Washington Wizards Name Change to Bullets Would be a Total Misfire, bleacherreport.com, (Oct. 7, 2010) https://bleacherreport.com/articles/485559-why-the-washington-wizards-name-change-to-bullets-would-be-a-total-misfire. In 2015, the NBA worked with the nonprofit organization, Everytown for Gun Safety, to create commercials with star players and shooting survivors, and in 2022 the NBA champions, the Golden State Warriors, joined officials at the White House on a panel that identified and addressed issues specific to gun violence in America.¹⁷[17]Sopan Deb and Tania Ganguli, Ja Morant’s Gun Videos Clash with NBA’s Gun Safety Advocacy, nytimes.com (June 16, 2023) https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/16/sports/basketball/ja-morant-grizzlies-suspended-nba.html.

Silver is understandably worried that Morant — one of the league’s most popular and exciting players — could influence millions of fans, most notably young fans, with his harmful and potentially deadly behavior that compromises and undermines the league’s commitment to combat gun violence.

Written By: Gabbi Bianco
Gabbi is a Brooklyn Law School Graduate, Class of 2018