Ja Morant Is Confronted by a Precious Opportunity

Morant’s punishment in the form of an eight-game suspension matters little. How he responds to this ordeal could make it a footnote in his career—or an unfortunate harbinger.

Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports

The NBA announced its punishment for Grizzlies star Ja Morant on Wednesday, suspending the rising star for eight games after he brandished a firearm in a nightclub hours after Memphis’s March 3 loss to the Nuggets and posted it on social media. The suspension is retroactive to March 5, by when the Grizzlies had already sent Morant away from the team, meaning he is eligible to return on March 20.

Morant met with NBA commissioner Adam Silver on Wednesday, and in its statement, the league did not conclude Morant traveled with the gun or handled it at a team facility, which would have been a violation of the CBA and potentially led to a harsher penalty. Morant reportedly sought counseling in Florida during his time away from the Grizz, and Silver said in a statement he expressed remorse for his actions. In these situations, it’s seemingly become natural to wonder: Is this punishment strong enough?

That probably misses the point. On one level, yes, Morant should be an example for up-and-coming players and how they comport themselves in the league. As a burgeoning face of the NBA, Morant’s actions were creating danger for himself, and in a country where gun violence is a serious issue, the optics of his Instagram Live were poor to say the absolute least. Maybe that does warrant a more precedent-setting suspension.

But the larger goal of this whole situation is not for Morant to simply maintain a clean image for the league and its corporate partners. It should be for him to grow out of his recent actions. The gun video appeared not to be an isolated incident for Morant. In fact, it occurred only days after the Washington Post reported on numerous alleged indiscretions by Morant, including threatening a mall security guard and flashing a gun at a teenager after a physical altercation. Morant and his associates were also reportedly involved in a tense situation with some Pacers employees, with some on the Pacers side again suspecting the involvement of guns.

This is not only about Morant letting down the NBA and his sponsors. If all the allegations are true, he is letting himself down. I don’t know how you put a number of games on a suspension like that. Not that anyone is necessarily arguing, but a longer time sitting out doesn’t necessarily equate to Morant stopping this behavior moving forward. It’s possible to want both Morant to be accountable for the harm he has allegedly caused others and himself and for him to sort out his personal issues and better focus on his successful basketball career as he comes out of this suspension.

And the only way we’ll all know if Morant is truly accountable for what he’s done and if he won’t repeat his mistakes is how he carries himself over the remainder of his career. In that sense, this situation is an opportunity for Morant. He has a chance to show he’s truly remorseful for his past behavior, that he understands the trouble he’s caused for himself and those around him, and that his energy is targeted toward what he does on the court and the positivity he’s also spread around the Memphis community.

There is still no one-size-fits-all formula for threading that needle. Ultimately, the only way for Morant to prove his suspension and counseling stint were worthwhile is with what comes next. It would be tragic for him to turn into a cautionary tale. Instead, if Morant can properly make amends for his missteps, he has a chance to be an example of redemption and rehabilitation instead. The ball is in his court.