Memphis Grizzlies Star Ja Morant Accused of Punching Teenager, Agent Mounts Self-defense Claims

Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant was accused in police reports last year of punching a 17-year-old, US media reported Wednesday, his agent saying the rising NBA star acted in self-defence. In police records obtained by the Washington Post, the unnamed teenage boy accused Morant of punching him “12-13 times” during a pickup basketball game at Morant’s Tennessee house in July 2022. In interviews with police, the teen said that after their altercation Morant went into his house and “re-emerged with a gun visible in the waistband of his pants.” Morant told police he “swung first” but felt he was acting in self-defence after the teenager threw a basketball that hit him in the head, later making a comment that Morant found threatening. TMZ reported in January that the teenager and his mother had sued Morant, and Tanner called it “disturbing that unsubstantiated rumours and gossip are being put out by people motivated to tear Ja down and tarnish his reputation for their own financial gain.” Morant, the second overall pick in the 2019 draft and a two-time All-Star, was embroiled in controversy in early February, when the NBA investigated allegations by the Indiana Pacers that Morant’s entourage “aggressively confronted” members of their travelling party, possibly pointing a red laser at them.