Snoop Dogg, Fat Joe and The Game are among the Hip Hop hoop fans who have weighed in on Ja Morant being suspended over a gun — again.
The NBA star was suspended by the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday (May 14) after a video circulated online showing him brandishing what appears to be a pistol while in a car with friends.
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NBA YoungBoy’s music can be heard blaring through the car’s speakers in the footage, which was captured from one of Morant’s friend’s Instagram Live broadcasts.
“We are aware of the social media post involving Ja Morant. He is suspended from all team activities pending league review,” the Grizzlies said in a statement. “We have no further comment at this time.”
The incident comes just months after Morant — a two-time NBA All-Star and last season’s Most Improved Player — was suspended for eight games after he was seen flashing a gun on Instagram Live while at a strip club in Colorado.
Much like the first time, the 23-year-old has faced intense criticism for his questionable off-court behavior, with Fat Joe in particular showing the Grizzlies star some tough love.
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In a video shared to Instagram this past weekend, the Terror Squad rapper claimed Ja is deliberately trying to sabotage his career and warned him that he’s surrounding himself with the wrong people.
“That man is trying hard to go play [in] Turkey or China or Serbia-Montenegro,” Joe said. “He’s trying hard to get kicked out the NBA. And those guys that’s with you? They not your peoples, Ja. They don’t care!
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“This is a problem we have with our community becoming famous because the people around you, they like the girls that’s watching, they love the lifestyle — but they’re not you! They didn’t dribble the basketball in the snow on Christmas trying to figure out the Kobe moves or the Jordan moves. They didn’t put in the work like you!”
He continued: “And guess what? If you get thrown out of the NBA, these are the same guys who are gonna say, ‘Yo, you wasn’t shit anyway. It is what it is.’ Ja, these are not your people! Anybody telling you or pointing you in the direction of ignorance is not with you!”
The Game echoed Fat Joe’s sentiment, writing in a comment on The Shade Room’s Instagram page: “Truly disappointing.”
Snoop Dogg, meanwhile, took a more comedic approach by sharing a series of videos poking fun at Ja Morant’s suspension.
One clip borrowed a scene from Usher’s “Confessions Part II” video where he’s taken aback by some shocking news and featured the caption: “Ja Morant’s agent on the phone this morning.”
Another showed comedian Druski impersonating the owner of a sports team attempting to convince a star athlete to “clean up” his act by telling him to cut his dreadlocks and stop hanging around with rappers.
Fellow West Coast rhymer Symba also provided some comic relief, joking in an Instagram comment: “Ja Morant x Myles Bridges new album coming soon. ‘I’m Not A Hooper I’m A Shooter’ executive produced by Smith & Wesson.”
While Ja Morant has yet to comment on his latest suspension, the Murray State alumnus apologized for his previous gun incident and reportedly attended a counseling program in Florida.
“I take full responsibility for my actions last night,” he said following his first suspension. “I’m sorry to my family, teammates, coaches, fans, partners, the city of Memphis and the entire Grizzlies organization for letting you down.”
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He added: “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.”
Morant returned to action in late March and helped the Grizzlies secure their place in the NBA playoffs, but the second-seed team were dumped out of the first round by the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.
