Ja Morant's Father Blames Himself For Son's Recent Off-Court Issues

Ja Morant returned to the floor for the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night for the first time since being suspended after flashing a gun on Instagram Live. While the game was unique given the circumstance - which included Morant coming off the bench for the first time in his career - there was one thing very familiar with the game.

As he always does, Tee Morant, Ja's father, sat courtside to watch his son.

Ja Morant's Father Blames Only Himself

Tee witnessed his son receive a standing ovation when he first checked into the game late in the first quarter. Morant ultimately played 24 minutes in the Grizzlies' win over the Houston Rockets scoring 17 points and picking up five assists.

After the game, Tee spoke with The Athletic's Kelly Iko and reflected on how the past couple of weeks have been for himself, Ja, and the Morant family.

“They were rough, bruh,” Tee Morant explained. “Rough. Reading bad things about my son and (people) judging him off of things that he really doesn’t believe in. It’s so crazy that people love to throw the stone but wouldn’t want the stone thrown at their kid. I felt totally responsible. Ja’s gonna show the world who he is, and I’m excited about that.”

READ: JA MORANT SAYS HE’S ‘NEVER HAD AN ALCOHOL PROBLEM’

While Ja is the only one responsible for jumping on Instagram Live with a gun, Tee blames himself for his son's off-court issues.

“I blame myself,” he said. “I blame myself. Because that’s my son. When I say I will die for my kids, I will die for my kids. Now has the world thought about that or thought like that? Anything my kid does, I’m going to blame myself.”

Morant flashing a pistol on Instagram hasn't been the only controversy surrounding his name over the past month. He was also accused and sued over allegedly hitting a teenager and threatening them with a gun in July 2022.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and all other happenings in the world of golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.