Mark Harris
Videos by OutKick
It’s not just the entire basketball world taking notice of Ja Morant’s ridiculous gun-waving antics, gang members in Los Angeles are paying attention too, according to ESPN’s Keyshawn Johnson.
In March, Morant flashed a handgun while on Instagram Live inside a Denver-area strip club and was suspended for eight games. This past weekend, less than three months since his first boneheaded decision, the Memphis Grizzlies superstar was spotted on Instagram Live yet again waving around a handgun.
For a guy who not long ago signed a $194 million contract and just had his first signature shoe from Nike released, waving around a gun for the entire world to see is a patently absurd decision, which is the point Johnson made on Monday.
“A notable gang member of a certain very powerful gang here in L.A. didn’t like the fact that Ja was doing those things in some of his games, along with portraying himself, to a degree, as some sort of hip-hop street gangster growing up in the hood when he hasn’t,” Johnson said on ESPN radio.
“Those are the sort of things that I worry about because you’re aligning yourself in a position that you know nothing about at all whatsoever – zero about. That’s where I look at the team and the league and to be able to say, ‘You’ve got to get him the necessary help that he needs; serious help.”
“People from the streets are kind of ticked off by his behavior because they would die to be in his shoes,” he continued.
“I grew up in the streets…you don’t want that life.”@keyshawn warns Ja Morant about squandering his opportunity. pic.twitter.com/hrV792KaPJ
— Keyshawn, JWill & Max (@KeyJayandMax) May 15, 2023
Johnson’s comments were similar to rapper Bricc Baby’s, who is a member of the Crips.
“He ain’t f–king with the gangland like that,” the rapper said in a clip. “What you wanna do, pay the Crips for the rest of your life?
Morant has been suspended from all team activities, but given that it’s the offseason for Memphis, that punishment isn’t exactly doing a whole lot of damage. He is, however, looking at a very lengthy suspension to start the 2023-24 campaign.
Ja Morant has Second Amendment rights. Strangely its mostly black folks who are telling Ja to put down the guns.
This has nothing to do with 2A. This has everything to do with responsible gun ownership. Responsible gun owners don’t wave their guns around in public. Ja is doing nothing but appropriating the gang culture to look hard.
It’s an especially bad look for a famous professional athlete from the suburbs, playing for a city riddled with crime, perpetuating the hip-hop gang life. He has a chance to be a positive role model for those young kids and young men who are forced to live in that life. Instead, he’s pretending he’s “about that life”.
No sir, the 2nd amendment isn’t there to provide you with skreet kred. Waving around a firearm in an urban area (probably loaded and chambered, can’t assume he’s not stupid like that) is not a gun rights issue. And even if it was, the grizzlies are free to consider it a violation of team rules, and suspend him as they see fit. He is not a part of the militia, he’s a clown playing with what he thinks are toys.
It was just a squirt gun. He was having innocent fun on a hot day.
Oh shut up Keyshawn. You are about as gangster as you are a hall of fame player. Somehow, you are more of a clown than Morant by injecting yourself into this, “Mr. I Grew up in the Streets”
I’m sure Nike will stand by him so long as he doesn’t committ the cardinal sin of criticizing the CCP!