Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant is being accused of punching and flashing a gun at a 17-year-old and threatening a mall security guard in two separate incidents.
The Washington Post’s Molly Hensley-Clancy obtained police records that show Morant was accused of punching the boy “12-13 times” during a pickup game at the NBA star’s house last summer.
Shelby County Sheriff’s Office detectives say that the teenager said Morant went into his house after hitting him and “re-emerged with a gun visible in the waistband of his pants and his hand on the weapon.”
Morant told police that he “swung first” in the alleged fight with the teenager, but it was in self-defense because the teenager threw a basketball at his head and advanced toward him.
Shelby County District Attorney’s office prosecutors told WaPo that they declined to press charges against Morant because “there was not enough evidence to proceed with a case.”
TMZ Sports had previously reported in January that the teenager filed a lawsuit against Morant in September. According to those court documents, the 17-year-old said he “accidentally” hit the NBA player in the face with a ball, after which Morant asked someone else “Should I do it to him?” before using “a closed fist” to punch the boy and knock him over.
In those same court documents, Morant said the teenager “made verbal threats stating he’d ‘light his house up'” and “he and his family were put in fear by the statement.”
Separate from this incident, the head of security at a Memphis mall told police he was “threatened” by Morant in the parking lot and that someone in Morant’s group shoved him in the head, per WaPo.
This isn’t the first time that Morant and his friends have been accused of aggressive behavior. The Athletic’s Bob Kravitz and Sam Amick reported last month that the NBA investigated allegations by the Indiana Pacers that associates of Morant “aggressively confronted” some of their people after the Jan. 29 game at FedEx Forum, allegedly even pointing a gun laser in their direction. Morant later tweeted that one of his friends was banned from attending Memphis Grizzlies home games for one year but he did not personally face any consequences for the incident.
