According to a police report obtained by the Washington Post, Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant was accused of beating up and brandishing a gun at a 17-year-old after a basketball game at his house in July of 2022.
The police report refers to the same incident in which Morant was hit with a lawsuit for last month. The boy said that Morant had hit him after he thew the ball at the boy, and the boy threw it back just as hard. The ball apparently slipped through Morant’s hands and hit him in the chin. The boy said that Morant asked one of his friends if “Do I do it to him?” to which his friend replied “Yeah. Do it.”
The victim said that Morant hit him in the jaw and his friend attacked him from the other side. “I fell to the ground, trying to cover my face, so I wouldn’t get hit in the face. I got, started getting hit, punched in my head, everything else. … Ja hit me like 12 to 13 times.” The boy said that Ja went back into his house and came out with a gun in his waistband, and while he did not pull the gun out, he put his hand on it. Morant’s dad apparently came outside and yelled at him to get back inside the house.
The victim’s mother filed a police report and took him to the hospital. In interviews with authorities, Morant has maintained his innocence, saying that he acted in self-defense. Morant said that after the boy threw the ball back at him, he started walking towards him as well. While he admitted to swinging first, he said that “the ball was the first swing to me.” Morant’s friends also say that they saw the boy try to fight Morant after throwing the ball back at him. However, none of them have confirmed whether Morant came outside with a gun.
Morant is also involved in another incident, this time at a Finish Line location at a Memphis mall. Morant’s mother reportedly got into an altercation with a store employee. She called Ja, who later showed up with 9 other members of his entourage. The security director came to confront Morant and his entourage and refused to leave the mall, prompting police to come.
According to the police report, Ja made a threat to the head of security, saying “Let me find out what time he gets off.” The head of security informed police that he wished to file a report on the incident “because he felt threatened by the statement from Ja Morant.” This incident happened just four days before his incident with the 17 year old.
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