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    Union Work Runs in the Family for the N.B.A.’s Jaren Jackson Jr.

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    Jaren Jackson Jr. is active in the N.B.A. players’ union. His mother, Terri, works for the W.N.B.A. players’ union. When he was elected vice president, she did her best not to embarrass him.The National Basketball Players Association is the union for N.B.A. players, a group of adult millionaires, most of whose mothers don’t attend unit meetings.But Terri Jackson is no ordinary N.B.A. mom. She is also the executive director for the W.N.B.A. players’ union, and, in February, she was invited to the N.B.A. players’ union’s winter meeting. As she put finishing touches on the presentation she was about to deliver, her son, Jaren Jackson Jr. of the Memphis Grizzlies, was nominated to be one of the union’s vice presidents.He gave a short, impromptu speech, telling his colleagues he wanted to bridge the gap between established players and younger ones like him. He said he felt it was time for him to take on that responsibility.When he finished, Terri Jackson said, she wanted to get up and cheer; she was so happy to see the maturity he showed. Instead, she squeezed her fists tightly and kept them hidden behind her laptop screen, so as not to embarrass her 23-year-old son. When he was elected, she raised her arms in celebration.In becoming a union vice president, Jackson Jr. extended a family tradition of being involved in player unions and the future of the game. His father, Jaren Jackson Sr., a journeyman N.B.A. player from 1989-2002, was also a players’ union member.Jackson Jr., right, and his father, the former N.B.A. player Jaren Jackson Sr., traded jerseys after the younger Jackson played in a game in March.Darren Abate/Associated PressFive years into his career, Jackson Jr. has already exceeded what his father accomplished on the court. Last season, he was named the N.B.A.’s defensive player of the year, and he helped lead the Grizzlies to one of the best records in the Western Conference.“If you love the game, that’s what you’re really doing it for,” Jackson Jr. said of his union activity. “I want kids growing up, whether it’s my kids or other people’s kids, when they grow up and they want to play in the league, they’re going to have a good foundation.”Practically since birth, Jaren Jr. was destined to care about labor issues. He was born while his father, who had most recently played for the San Antonio Spurs, was going through a work stoppage during the N.B.A. lockout in 1999.Jaren Sr., whose father was also a union member as a longshoreman in New Orleans, was a free agent during the lockout, waiting for the Spurs to re-sign him.He would sometimes fly to New York to attend bargaining meetings, joining elite players like Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning and Mitch Richmond.“This was a tough time for me,” Jaren Sr. said. “I wasn’t sure about my future and I sat there and listened to these guys, you know, drop F-bombs all over the place and talk about these players getting paid and owners making this money.”Terri Jackson also has a family history of support for unions. She remembers a story about her father, who was a lawyer, speaking for better pay for teachers at a school board meeting.“When I think about getting to be the executive director for the W players, I just, you know, I think a little bit: ‘Wow. You know, my dad would be so proud of this’ — or he is so proud,” Terri Jackson said. “And that his grandson is a union rep? That’s amazing.”Terri Jackson spoke in support of the W.N.B.A. player Brittney Griner when Griner was imprisoned in Russia last year.Max Herman/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesShe and Jaren Sr. both went to college at Georgetown University, where she also attended law school. She has taught classes about women in sports and worked at the University of the District of Columbia as a legal counsel and later assistant general counsel.The family moved to Indiana in 2012 when Terri began working for the N.C.A.A; she eventually became the organization’s director of law, policy and governance. In 2016, when Jaren Jr. was in high school, she became the executive director of the W.N.B.P.A., where she has led initiatives for improved maternity benefits and better pay for players.His parents’ careers meant Jaren Jr. moved often, and that he had to learn to adapt to new people quickly.The Jacksons said they raised him to participate, to be comfortable in front of people he didn’t know.He was always bigger than the other children, and he learned early how to make his peers feel comfortable. At age 4, that meant sharing toys in a sandbox, and, as he got older, it meant speaking up for them in class or running for student council.“Given all that your life has been blessed with, all the opportunities that you have, there’s an expectation that you participate in the lives of others,” Terri said.His classmates elected him to student government, which taught him how to relate to his peers and to help them feel heard.He also learned how to perform in front of groups, a skill that transferred to his professional basketball career. At summer camps growing up, he would perform dances with friends. A hip-hop performance when Jaren Jr. was about 14 or 15 years old remains etched in Jaren Sr.’s memory.“I’m not allowed to share the video with anyone,” said Jaren Sr. “But he did a magnificent job.”Jaren Sr. reached the N.B.A. as an undrafted player and cobbled together a long career in pieces, making stops in lesser leagues and finding smaller roles with N.B.A. teams, including one championship season with the Spurs.Jaren Jr. was a highly regarded recruit coming out of high school, already nearly seven feet tall.This year, Jackson Jr. was an N.B.A. All-Star and the defensive player of the year.Petre Thomas/USA Today Sports, via ReutersHe played one season at Michigan State before the Grizzlies selected him fourth overall in the 2018 draft.Injuries have interrupted his first few years, but Jackson’s talent has been undeniable. On an exceptionally young Grizzlies team, Jackson has quickly become one of the leaders.He missed the first 14 games of the 2022-23 season while recovering from surgery, but he was still voted the league’s defensive player of the year.He learned the news when the TNT analyst Ernie Johnson announced it during a broadcast. Jackson sat back on a couch at home with a basketball between his knees. As soon as Johnson said his name, Terri, who was standing near him, started shouting in celebration.“WOOOOOOO! Yes! Yes! Yes!” she said, as Jaren Jr. smiled and put his hands over his eyes.“I just like to chill be quiet and relax,” Jaren Jr. said, “but she’s — you let your mom enjoy those moments.”This time, she didn’t have to hide her joy behind a laptop.When his peers elected him as an N.B.P.A. vice president, Jaren Jr. made sure they knew that he understood he had a lot to learn. He tries to keep his teammates abreast of how to take advantage of collectively bargained benefits, he said.He has worked with his teammate Ja Morant as Morant navigates the league’s punishment for a series of social media videos that resulted in a 25-game suspension. Jaren Jr. declined to give specifics, saying “that’s his business.”He had tried to be involved in the union even before joining the executive committee, he said, but having an official role means longer meetings and more responsibility.“It’s a lot,” Jaren Jr. said. “You have to look after the league — you’re like a big brother.”Jackson Jr. and his mother at the FedEx Forum in Memphis.Whitten Sabbatini for The New York TimesThe veteran players in the union’s leadership roles are helping him as he learns the league’s business machinations, he said.In his parents, he also has two more veterans of sports league union work to rely on if he needs them. But these days, Jaren Jr. doesn’t often do that. Their time together tends to be more family focused, the lessons of the past having been imprinted long ago. More

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      Ja Morant Suspended 25 Games for Second Gun Video

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      Morant, the Memphis Grizzlies star, was suspended for 25 games for recklessly waving a gun in a video shared on social media in May. It was the second time he had done so.As the United States grapples with the very American problem of rampant gun violence, the issue of gun safety has touched the N.B.A. through one of its brightest young stars, Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies, who was suspended for 25 games on Friday after recklessly waving a gun around in a social media video for a second time.Morant, 23, is a small but electrifying point guard with one of the most popular jerseys in the N.B.A. and 12.5 million followers across Twitter and Instagram. But against a backdrop of frequent mass shootings, and as he plays in a city that has struggled with gun violence, Morant has used his growing sphere of influence to model behavior that even he has acknowledged was harmful.For years, the image-conscious N.B.A. has endeavored to be seen as progressive, particularly on the fraught topic of gun violence. Many coaches and stars, like LeBron James and Stephen Curry, have spoken out about gun safety. The Golden State Warriors, last season’s champions, met with officials at the White House for a panel on the issue in January. Though it does not appear that Morant broke any of the league’s firearms rules with his videos — he didn’t bring a gun into a locker room, as two players were suspended for doing in 2010 — his carelessness has threatened to undermine the league’s efforts.The Golden State Warriors, including guard Stephen Curry, center, and Coach Steve Kerr, right, spoke to White House officials about gun safety during a trip to Washington in January to celebrate their 2022 championship.Doug Mills/The New York Times“The potential for other young people to emulate Ja’s conduct is particularly concerning,” N.B.A. Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. He added that the length of the suspension — about a third of the season — was meant to show that “engaging in reckless and irresponsible behavior with guns will not be tolerated.”Tamika Tremaglio, the executive director of the N.B.A. players’ union, said in a statement Friday that Morant had shown remorse and that the punishment was “excessive and inappropriate.” She added that the union would “explore with Ja all options and next steps.” The N.B.A. said it had suspended Morant for conduct detrimental to the league.In early March, the N.B.A. suspended Morant for eight games after he live-streamed video on Instagram as he laughed and brandished a firearm in a nightclub near Denver after a game. Morant apologized and said he had checked into a health facility in Florida to better deal with stress. Then, on May 13, one of Morant’s friends streamed video of him waving a gun as he rode in a vehicle. The Grizzlies suspended him indefinitely, and Silver told ESPN he was “shocked.”Kris Brown, the president of Brady, a nonprofit that works to curb gun violence, said she found it “appropriate” that the N.B.A. had taken action to penalize Morant.“Firearms may be a tool in some instances, but they can also kill, maim and injure other people if not handled and stored properly,” Brown said. She added: “Public figures have a responsibility to be held accountable for how they engage on these kinds of life-and-death issues. It’s not a small thing. People could die if they handle firearms in such a cavalier way, and they do every day.”In 2015, the N.B.A. worked with Everytown for Gun Safety, a group that supports gun safety legislation, to create commercials with star players and shooting survivors discussing gun violence. The ads were timed to air during the league’s marquee Christmas Day slate of games.Last May, after 19 students and two teachers were killed in a shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, N.B.A. teams in the playoffs displayed messages at their arenas asking fans to urge their political representatives to pass “common sense” gun safety legislation.Twenty-one crosses stand in the town square in Uvalde, Texas, for the victims of the Robb Elementary School mass shooting in May 2022.Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The New York TimesHundreds of people marched to San Antonio City Hall in June 2022 for the March for Our Lives rally, a nationwide protest demanding change to gun laws.Montinique Monroe for The New York TimesBut even as the N.B.A. has adopted an outwardly progressive stance on gun safety, its comments have not been in line with the actions of several of its team owners. Among others, the Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, the Knicks’ James Dolan and the DeVos family, which owns the Orlando Magic, have all donated to prominent Republican politicians who have opposed tighter gun restrictions.The N.B.A.’s collective bargaining agreement with the players’ union prohibits players from carrying firearms in any league- or team-operated facility, which includes team planes.The most significant gun-related suspension came in 2010, after Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton, who played for the Washington Wizards, threatened each other with guns in the team’s locker room. (Arenas has said he was joking.) Arenas was suspended for 50 games, 12 games more than Crittenton, because he made light of the situation with gun gestures during a game while the incident was being investigated.“I think it affected — I don’t even want to say legacy — my name,” Arenas told The New York Times last month. “It affected it really bad. I said it back then, where the most disappointing part of it all is I did 100 things right. I did one wrong thing and that’s all everyone remembers. That’s what really hurts you the most.”Other gun-related incidents have earned much lighter penalties. Raymond Felton was suspended for four games in 2014 after he pleaded guilty to felony gun possession. In 2007, Stephen Jackson was suspended for seven games after he pleaded guilty to a felony count of criminal recklessness. Months before, he had fired a gun outside a strip club in Indianapolis.Tremaglio, the union’s executive director, said in her statement Friday that Morant’s punishment was “not fair and consistent with past discipline.” In addition to the 25-game suspension, Morant will have to meet certain unspecified conditions and, Silver said, “formulate and fulfill a program with the league that directly addresses the circumstances that led him to repeat this destructive behavior.”The N.B.A. had been investigating the second video since the middle of May but had delayed releasing the findings until after the N.B.A. finals. The Denver Nuggets won their first championship on Monday by defeating the Miami Heat in five games. Morant’s Grizzlies had been eliminated from the playoffs at the end of April.Before Game 1 of the N.B.A. finals on June 1, Silver said it would be “unfair” to the Nuggets and the Heat to announce the Morant results while they were still competing.Commissioner Adam Silver delayed the announcement of Morant’s punishment until after the N.B.A. finals because he said distracting from the games would not be fair to the teams still competing.David Zalubowski/Associated PressThere was also a business reason to wait: The N.B.A. finals are as much an advertisement for the league as they are a clash of two conference champions.“You don’t want it to be the story that gets talked about during the finals,” said Lawrence Parnell, the director of the strategic public relations program at George Washington University. He added, “It’s all about shaping the narrative to be about the players and about the game and not about someone who’s not even there.”Contrast that with this week at the U.S. Open in golf, where much of the conversation has been about the pending, and heavily criticized, merger of the PGA Tour and the Saudi-backed LIV Golf.But Morant is not easily forgotten, and neither is gun safety.Morant’s dynamic play made him a fixture on highlight shows, and he has led the Grizzlies to the playoffs three times. Morant will be entering his fifth season, having already made two All-Star teams. This spring, Nike released his first signature sneaker — typically a signifier of true N.B.A. stardom.For the moment, Nike appears to be standing by him, just as it did as he faced an avalanche of criticism after the first video.“We are pleased that Ja is taking accountability and prioritizing his well-being,” Nike said in a statement on Friday. “We will continue to support him on and off the court.”Morant seemed to be aware of his celebrity platform as he apologized in a statement Friday.“To the kids who look up to me, I’m sorry for failing you as a role model,” he said. “I promise I’m going to be better. To all of my sponsors, I’m going to be a better representation of our brands. And to all of my fans, I’m going to make it up to you, I promise.”Powerade, which had announced Morant as a new endorser in March, did not respond to a request for comment about his suspension.The Grizzlies said in a statement that they respected the N.B.A.’s decision to suspend Morant. “Our standards as a league and team are clear, and we expect that all team personnel will adhere to them,” the team said.Morant, in his apology, asked for a chance to prove that “I’m a better man than I’ve been showing you.” But it may be difficult.“I think there’s an opportunity to have a positive story come out of this for the league and for Ja Morant,” Parnell said. “But going to counseling and doing a mea culpa is not going to make any difference in his reputation.” More

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      NBA Delays Releasing Ja Morant Gun Investigation Results

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      Commissioner Adam Silver said he could announce the findings now, but it would be “unfair” to the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat, who are still competing.N.B.A. Commissioner Adam Silver on Thursday said that the league would wait until the conclusion of the finals to announce the findings of its latest investigation into the behavior of Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, as well as any potential discipline of him.On May 13, Morant appeared to brandish a firearm in public for the second time in just over two months, prompting the investigation. Silver declined to say whether Morant would be available to play for the Grizzlies at the start of next season.“I would say we probably could’ve brought it to a head now,” Silver said at a news conference in Denver before Game 1 of the championship series between the Nuggets and the Miami Heat. “But we made the decision, and I believe the players’ association agrees with us, that it would be unfair to these players and these teams in the middle of the series to announce the results of that investigation.”The Grizzlies suspended Ja Morant indefinitely last month after a video on social media appeared to show him holding a gun in a vehicle.Gary A. Vasquez/USA Today Sports Via Reuters ConMorant is a two-time All-Star and already one of the league’s most exciting players at 23 years old. In March, the N.B.A. suspended him for eight games without pay for conduct detrimental to the league after he appeared in an Instagram Live video “holding a firearm in an intoxicated state” while visiting a nightclub near Denver, according to a league statement. Soon after the video’s streaming, Morant left the team and checked into a counseling facility in Florida. Following his return to the Grizzlies, Morant told reporters that he had spent his time at the facility learning how to better deal with stress and improve himself.But last month, a new Instagram Live video appeared to show Morant flashing a gun, this time while riding in a vehicle. The Grizzlies, who had already been eliminated from the playoffs by the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round, quickly suspended Morant from all team activities pending the league’s review of the video.On Thursday, Silver said the league had “uncovered a fair amount of additional information,” but he did not elaborate.Silver was also asked whether he thought the league’s initial eight-game suspension had sent a strong enough message to Morant. At the time, Silver said, Morant seemed “heartfelt and serious” in his conversations with league officials.“But I think he understood that it wasn’t about his words, that it was going to be about his future conduct,” Silver said. “So, I guess, in hindsight, I don’t know. If it had been a 12-game suspension instead of an eight-game suspension, would that have mattered?”He added: “It seemed appropriate at the time. Maybe, by definition, to the extent — we’ve all seen the video. It appears he’s done it again. So I guess you could say, maybe not. But I don’t think we yet know what it will take to change his behavior.”The N.B.A. has penalized players for similar types of acts. During the 2009-10 season, for example, Gilbert Arenas of the Washington Wizards was suspended 50 games for bringing guns into the team’s locker room, which violates league policy. Arenas, who was a three-time All-Star at the time, also appeared to make light of the situation by making finger gun gestures at a game while the league was still investigating his behavior.Silver described Morant as “a fine young man” who has “clearly made some mistakes.”“But he’s young,” Silver said, “and I’m hoping now that once we conclude at the end of our process what the appropriate discipline is, that it’s not just about the discipline, that it’s about what we, the players’ association, his team, and he and the people around him are going to do to create better circumstances going forward. I think that’s what’s ultimately most important here.”Sopan Deb More

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      NBA Quiz: Where Is the Pass Going?

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      Few aspects of basketball capture the joy of the game like great passes. The most exciting ones require communication, improvisation and a little luck. This year’s N.B.A. finals will feature one of the sport’s best at getting the ball to his teammates: Denver’s Nikola Jokic. Can you see the court like the pros? Try to […] More

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      What Gilbert Arenas Wants Ja Morant to Know

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      Gilbert Arenas’s N.B.A. career never recovered after he brought guns into a locker room. Now he’s puzzled by the gun troubles of Morant, the star Memphis Grizzlies guard.Gilbert Arenas figured it was an old video. There was no way, he thought, Ja Morant could have done the same thing so soon after his mea culpa. Not with all that was at stake.“Once I realized it was a new one, there was nothing else to say,” Arenas, the former Washington Wizards star, said, adding: “The fact that you keep wanting to do the things you’re doing, then you must want to see how invincible you think you are.”Morant, a 23-year-old Memphis Grizzlies guard, is facing criticism for the second time in just over two months for a social media video that appeared to show him playfully but recklessly waving around a gun in public. The N.B.A. verified the first video, in March, but is still investigating the second, which went viral last weekend. Morant apologized Tuesday.Arenas, 41, can relate to Morant’s turmoil better than almost anyone. In the 2009-10 season, the N.B.A. suspended him for 50 games for bringing guns into his team’s locker room and mocking the situation by making finger gun gestures at a game while the league was still investigating. Arenas, who had made three All-Star teams by then, said he got in trouble in a space where he felt comfortable — perhaps too comfortable.Gilbert Arenas was a three-time All-Star before he brought guns into his team’s locker room. He now hosts the “No Chill” podcast, where he often talks about lessons from his career.Richard Perry/The New York TimesThe N.B.A. suspended Arenas after he mocked the locker room incident with finger gun gestures during a game.Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE, via Nbae, via Getty Images“It’s different for me because I am not getting in trouble in my everyday life,” Arenas said. “I’m getting trouble at my workplace. The invisible cloud that I thought I had was removed.”Morant’s trouble has played out on social media, where he has millions of followers, and with much more at stake for his career and for the N.B.A. His otherworldly athleticism has made him a nightly highlight reel with legions of fans who have made his jersey one of the league’s best sellers. Morant released his first signature shoe with Nike this year, and was leading a new advertising campaign for Powerade. He was poised to be one of the young stars the N.B.A. relies on to carry the league forward after LeBron James and Stephen Curry retire. Now all of that is in jeopardy.Two videos. Two apologies, each with Morant vowing to be better.N.B.A. Commissioner Adam Silver suspended Morant for eight games after the first video, and said in an interview on ESPN on Tuesday that he was “shocked” when he saw the second. It’s unclear whether Morant broke any laws, but Silver, as he did in March, can suspend him for conduct deemed detrimental to the league. The Grizzlies, who were eliminated from the playoffs last month, have suspended Morant from team activities indefinitely.“He’s not only done a disservice to himself, but to the franchise,” said Larry Parnell, the director of the strategic public relations program at George Washington University. “And I think people take that more personally than they do politicians or actors who misbehave.”He explained why: “If you’re a celebrity and you make movies and I don’t like what you’re doing, I’m not emotionally attached to your movie, but I’m emotionally attached to the Celtics. I’m emotionally attached to the Grizzlies.”Arenas said that his situation contrasted with Morant’s because he was more aware that he was a public figure and acted accordingly, such as by not wearing flashy jewelry in public to avoid being robbed. “I understood I am not normal,” Arenas said.Nevertheless, Arenas’s gun incident overshadowed the rest of his N.B.A. career, which lasted only two more seasons, in part because of injuries. He was seen as immature.“I think it affected — I don’t even want to say legacy — my name,” said Arenas, who co-hosts the “Gil’s Arena” show for Underdog Fantasy. “It affected it really bad. I said it back then, where the most disappointing part of it all is I did 100 things right. I did one wrong thing and that’s all everyone remembers. That’s what really hurts you the most.”There have been other cautionary tales about star athletes and guns. Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself in 2008 at a nightclub in Manhattan less than year after catching the game-winning touchdown for the Giants in the Super Bowl. He spent nearly two years in prison, and his career never recovered. In March, he was asked about Morant in an interview on “The Carton Show.”“If I was speaking to him, it would just be, ‘If you can’t learn anything, learn from me,’” Burress said. “Just make better decisions because you really don’t want for him to have that label moving forward, being that he’s so young. He has the opportunity to be the face of the N.B.A. He’s that great of a player and you want to continue to see him, you know, mature as a person as his game is getting better.”Morant, in his signature Nike sneakers, has been seen as one of the brightest young stars in the generation after LeBron James, left.Gary A. Vasquez/Usa Today Sports Via Reuters ConNegative reputations can be hard to shake, and the reactions to Morant’s behavior have been mixed. JJ Redick, the ESPN analyst and former N.B.A. player, has argued, like many others, that Morant shouldn’t face harsh punishment if he hasn’t broken the law. Charles Barkley, the TNT analyst and former N.B.A. player, has teed off on Morant, saying that the rules are different for public figures. Nike did not respond to a request for comment, but Morant’s shoes no longer come up in searches for his name at nike.com. A spokesperson for Powerade said the company had “no update” about Morant’s contract.Arenas lost his shoe deal with Adidas because of his gun incident. He also pleaded guilty to one count of felony gun possession and was sentenced to 30 days in a halfway house. That was more than a decade ago, but Arenas has become the go-to voice when athletes are in trouble. Still, in November, the Wizards honored him with a framed jersey at halftime of a game on “Throwback Night.”“We all throw out the word: ‘Be accountable for your actions,’” Arenas said. “But do we actually allow that person to really be accountable? When we see: ‘OK, he never touched a gun ever again. He’s never showed that same behavior to want to be around guns. Never looked at a gun.’ Why would you keep reminding the world that that’s what he did?“We want the person to change their behavior, but we don’t want to accept it when they do.” More

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      Ja Morant Apologizes After New Video With Apparent Gun

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      The NewsThe star Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant apologized late Tuesday after receiving days of backlash for a social media video that appeared to show him brandishing a gun in public for the second time in just over two months.“I know I’ve disappointed a lot of people who have supported me,” Morant said in a statement. “This is a journey and I recognize there is more work to do. My words may not mean much right now, but I take full accountability for my actions. I’m committed to continuing to work on myself.”N.B.A. Commissioner Adam Silver said in a televised interview with ESPN on Tuesday that he was “shocked” by the video, which Morant’s friend reportedly streamed live on Instagram.Ja Morant said in a statement Tuesday night that he takes “full accountability for my actions.”Brandon Dill/Associated PressWhy It Matters: Morant is influential as a major rising N.B.A. star.Morant, 23, is one of the best young players in the N.B.A. He has already made two All-Star teams and one All-N.B.A. team just four years into his career. He won the Rookie of the Year Award in 2020. He is best known for high-flying dunks and has made the Grizzlies a strong contender in the Western Conference as the No. 2 seed in back-to-back seasons.He is also part of a new generation of N.B.A. stars the league hopes will help the game transition from aging figures like LeBron James, 38, and Stephen Curry, 35. He has a new signature sneaker with Nike and had been announced as the new face of Powerade in March.Background: He was suspended in March because of a gun video.Morant faced criticism in March when a live video on his Instagram account showed him waving around a firearm in a Colorado nightclub. The N.B.A. suspended him for eight games. Morant also apologized then, taking “full responsibility” for his actions. Morant vowed to “work on better methods of dealing with stress” and went to a counseling facility in Florida.Silver, the N.B.A. commissioner, called Morant’s actions “irresponsible, reckless and potentially very dangerous.”The video was posted as other Morant-related controversies swirled.In a lawsuit, Josh Holloway, then 17, had accused Morant of punching him during a pickup basketball game last summer. Morant told the police that it was self-defense. A mall employee had also accused Morant of assaulting him after Morant’s mother had a dispute at a shoe store. Another person accused Morant of intimidation when Morant came to his sister’s high school volleyball game because she was involved in a dispute. Morant has not been charged with a crime in any of these incidents.Recordings of the new video went viral on Sunday. The Grizzlies quickly suspended Morant from all team activities, though the team was eliminated from the playoffs last month.What’s Next: The N.B.A. will decide whether to discipline Morant again.Silver told ESPN on Tuesday that the league was investigating the new video.“The videos have been grainy and all that,” Silver said. “But I’m assuming the worst.”As part of the N.B.A.’s collective bargaining agreement between the players’ union and team owners, players agree to “not to do anything that is materially detrimental or materially prejudicial to the best interests” of the team or the league. In suspending Morant the first time, the N.B.A. said his conduct had been detrimental to the league. More

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      Ja Morant Suspended from Grizzlies for Possible New Gun Video

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      Morant, the star Memphis Grizzlies guard, was first suspended in March after he flashed a gun during an Instagram Live video.Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, 23, is under scrutiny from the N.B.A. again after he flashed an object that looked like a gun in a carefree manner during an Instagram Live video posted over the weekend.The video, which appeared to be posted on Saturday, came just over two months after the N.B.A. suspended Morant for displaying a gun in a live Instagram video filmed at a nightclub near Denver. He expressed remorse then, saying that the gun did not belong to him and that he would be better.On Sunday, the Grizzlies said in a statement that they had suspended Morant from all team activities pending the league’s review of the new video. Memphis was eliminated from the playoffs last month after losing to the Lakers in the first round. Mike Bass, a league spokesman, said the N.B.A. was “aware” of the post and was gathering more information.In March, the league suspended Morant for eight games after the nightclub video. N.B.A. Commissioner Adam Silver noted Morant’s “enormous following and influence” in the announcement of that suspension, which classified the gun incident as conduct detrimental to the league. That Instagram Live video was posted early on March 4, when, the N.B.A. said, Morant had been “in an intoxicated state.” Morant soon checked into a facility in Florida for counseling.“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 said at the time in a statement, which was posted on Twitter by Tandem, the agency that represents him.In contrast to Sunday, when the Grizzlies suspended Morant, the team first responded to March’s incident less pointedly, simply saying that Morant would step away from the team. Coach Taylor Jenkins shied away from criticizing Morant when addressing reporters then and offered few details about any conversations he or the team might have had with Morant.Morant later said going to counseling was his idea.The nightclub incident was just one in a series of concerning off-court situations for Morant going back to last summer, some of which involved people who said they felt threatened by Morant or his associates, according to reports in The Washington Post and The Athletic.One incident involved a fight with a 17-year-old, Josh Holloway, whom Morant had invited to his home for a pickup game in July. Holloway has filed a suit against Morant; the police investigated the incident but have not charged Morant. Four days earlier, a mall security employee had accused Morant of threatening him after Morant’s mother, Jamie Morant, had been involved in a disagreement at a shoe store.TMZ also reported that the police investigated Morant for intimidation after a high school volleyball game in September, when Morant said somebody had insulted his sister. During an interview with ESPN, Morant said he feared for his sister’s safety and left when he knew she was safe.Before Morant returned to the Grizzlies from his suspension in March, he met with Silver, the commissioner, and called the meeting an “open discussion.”“Obviously, he said things I need to be better at, but more of just showing his support towards me,” Morant said during the interview with ESPN. “I accepted that, and I also sent my apologies to everybody — to the league, myself, my teammates, my family for putting that negativity towards all of us with a bad decision.”Morant’s eight-game suspension, announced March 15, included the five games he had already missed when he left the team for counseling.“I’m a totally different person than what’s been shown in the media,” Morant said in the ESPN interview, broadcast hours after his suspension was announced. “That’s my job now. That’s why I took that time away, to become a better Ja, so everybody really can see who Ja really is and you know what he’s about.”Once he returned, he showed a mixture of defiance and contrition. He said the journey that he began in counseling was a continuing process.He was celebrated by Grizzlies fans in his first game back. Members of his family wore attire that said “redemption” on it. In comments after the game, Morant indicated that he felt unfairly targeted at times.Still, that return was an opportunity for Morant to show that his stated desire to be better was sincere.Morant is one of the league’s top guards. His signature shoe with Nike made its debut in March. Nike did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Morant’s latest suspension. After the March incidents, Nike released a statement saying the company supported Morant’s “prioritization of his well-being.”He just completed his fourth season with the Grizzlies, having come to the team as a small but electrifying point guard out of Murray State as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 draft. He is the leader on a young team that had been one of the best in the Western Conference all season even as Memphis coped with injuries to key players.Last week, after Morant was not selected as one of the six guards on the three All-N.B.A. teams, he reposted a tweet from a Grizzlies beat writer that suggested that his off-court behavior might have contributed to his not being selected.Morant signed a five-year contract extension last summer, which included an additional $38 million if he made the All-N.B.A. team this year. According to The Associated Press, Morant filed a countersuit against Holloway in April, accusing Holloway of harming his reputation and potentially costing him millions of dollars. More

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      LeBron James Has First 20-20 Game in Lakers’ Game 4 Win Over Grizzlies

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      A 22-point, 20-rebound game by James led the Lakers in Game 4 against the Grizzlies, a win that put Ja Morant and Memphis on the brink of elimination.LOS ANGELES — There are still milestones left for LeBron James to reach, as improbable as that seems.In a 20-year career in which James has powered three franchises to championships and become the league’s all-time scoring leader, James had never grabbed 20 rebounds in a game. Not in the regular season. Not in the postseason.Not until Monday. Until his Los Angeles Lakers needed his muscle, his experience and his intuition. Until it needed James to push a brash young opponent, the Memphis Grizzlies, to the brink of a first-round playoff elimination.“These are the moments that I love,” James said. “I love the postseason.”The 117-111 overtime victory James helped deliver on Monday night led the Lakers, a team that started the season 2-10 and seemed lost heading into the trade deadline, to a 3-1 lead over the Grizzlies, who spent all season as one of the best teams in the Western Conference.The Lakers are in this commanding position because James found a way to push through his exhaustion in the final minutes of Game 4 and add to his lore. He grabbed rebounds, he took charges, he made a driving layup through contact with 29.1 seconds left in overtime and screamed into the crowd as he pounded on his chest.“He understands the timing, the timing of everything,” Lakers Coach Darvin Ham said. “The known of what happened yesterday and the unknown of tomorrow, it makes him even more entrenched in today, into the moment.“All of his travels. All of the phenomenal things he’s accomplished — he still has that passion, that grit to want to be on top and to want to put his team in position, the right way, to be successful. That’s what you saw.”With 22 points and 20 rebounds, James became the first Laker to reach 20 points and 20 rebounds in a playoff game since Shaquille O’Neal in 2004. At 38, he became the oldest player in N.B.A. history to have 20 points and 20 rebounds in a game, beating a playoff mark set by Wilt Chamberlain in 1973.James’s presence is part of the reason it has been clear from the start of the series that the Lakers are no ordinary seventh seed. Their record didn’t reflect who they were once Anthony Davis and James were available, if not fully healthy. They also improved significantly after remaking their roster at the trade deadline.Conversely, the Grizzlies came into the postseason hobbled. Their starting center, Steven Adams, has been out with a knee injury, and Brandon Clarke, another player who lent size to their lineup, also has been injured.Memphis lost Game 1 at home. But, famous for their bluster, that early defeat did not humble them. One Grizzlies player, Dillon Brooks, went directly at James on the court and off it.During Game 2, Brooks said James called him “dumb” for acquiring his fourth foul.“I don’t care — he’s old, you know what I mean?” Brooks responded.“I was waiting for that. I was expecting him to do that Game 4, Game 5. He wanted to say something when I got my fourth foul. He should have been saying that earlier on. But I poke bears. I don’t respect no one until they come and give me 40.”Creating a rivalry with James can be an easy way for another player to siphon some of his spotlight. James knew that and wanted no part of it.After a practice last week, James was asked several questions about Brooks’s comments and sidestepped each one. He then ended his news conference early, before he was tempted to say anything that might escalate the feud. He said he preferred to speak through his play.In the minutes before Game 3, though, James approached Brooks. There was no audio, but cameras caught the interaction and the video circulated on social media.“There was nothing private about it,” James said after the game, giving away that he wasn’t actually ignoring all that Brooks had said. “It was very, very public. I like it that way.”The Lakers led by 35-9 after the first quarter of that game, driving their fans into a delirious frenzy and making Memphis’s bravado seem foolish. The Grizzlies never recovered from their poor start even though Ja Morant scored 45 points. Brooks was ejected in the third quarter for a flagrant foul assessed when he struck James in the groin, putting an early end to whatever battle might have been brewing between the two of them.Ja Morant, who scored 45 points in a loss in Game 3, was held to 19 on Monday.Gary A. Vasquez/Usa Today Sports Via Reuters ConStill, not everything came easily for the Lakers on Monday.They had a 15-point lead in the second quarter, but Memphis closed the first half with a 14-1 run and the Lakers led by just 2 at halftime. To end the third quarter, Morant wove through the paint to dunk the ball as time expired and gave Memphis a 2-point lead.Late in the game, however, the Lakers got important contributions from several players. Davis, after a quiet game through three quarters, made important defensive plays late. D’Angelo Russell made three 3-pointers within a one-minute span during the fourth quarter to pull the Lakers out of a 7-point deficit.But James’s contributions, as he fought through fatigue in the closing minutes, meant the most.“You just dig deep and understand that you’ll be able to sleep at some point, just not right now,” James said, looking drained after the game. “This is not the time to rest or forget about an assignment. You’ll have plenty of time after a game and the next day to kind of rest and decompress as much as possible.”Rest is hard to come by in the playoffs. Though the Lakers and the Grizzlies had a kinder schedule than some teams got, with two days off between each of the first three games, they are now playing every other day with increasingly high stakes. The Lakers’ first chance to finish off the series will come in Game 5 on Wednesday in Memphis.“The closeout game is always the hardest game of the series,” James said. “It’s the most tiring one.” More

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      Grizzlies Guard Ja Morant Moves Toward ‘Redemption’ After Gun Video

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      Back from an eight-game suspension, the Memphis Grizzlies guard said he had more work to do to improve himself. But there was also a hint of defiance in his approach.MEMPHIS — When Ja Morant checked into his first game in almost three weeks on Wednesday, Grizzlies fans at the FedEx Forum wrapped him in the warm embrace of a standing ovation and prolonged roars.In a way, they offered him a protective shield from the harsh glare of the spotlight that has fixed itself on Morant, 23, ever since he blithely flashed a gun during an Instagram live session and was forced to acknowledge that some of his off-court behavior could hurt his bright future. Before Wednesday’s game against Houston, Morant had missed the Grizzlies’ past nine games — eight of them because the N.B.A. suspended him without pay for the gun incident. He was a little nervous about his return.“Seeing how the fans reacted to me being back definitely helped me a lot,” Morant said. “Made me feel good inside and yeah. It was, I don’t know. …”His voice began to trail off.“I can’t put it into words,” Morant said. “I’m kind of numb right now but thankful for everybody.”Behind the scenes, Morant had offered to come off the bench. The Grizzlies had won six of their last seven games with Tyus Jones starting at point guard. “I didn’t want to come back and mess any of that chemistry up,” Morant said.He had started every game in his four-year N.B.A. career, but he scored 17 points off the bench in the Grizzlies’ 130-125 win over the Rockets. He still showed some of the dynamism that has made him one of the most exciting players in the N.B.A.Morant is averaging a career-best 8.1 assists per game this season.Petre Thomas/USA Today Sports, via ReutersBut his return has included a mix of contrition and defiance, the kind of uncertainty that can sharpen into a course correction or harden into regression. What is at stake for Morant is not just success this season; he could be one of the faces of the league for years to come. He is only 23 and has the skill and the style of a superstar, a brash confidence on the court and the talent to back it up. And now he has experienced one more element of stardom: a glimpse of how quickly it can all go away.N.B.A. Commissioner Adam Silver noted Morant’s “enormous following and influence” in the announcement of the suspension, which classified the gun incident as conduct detrimental to the league. The Instagram live video was posted early on March 4, when, the N.B.A. said, Morant had been “in an intoxicated state” at a nightclub in the Denver area. Morant soon left the team and checked into a facility in Florida for counseling. He said he spent the time learning how to better deal with stress and improve himself.But the most important thing Morant said this week was that his work isn’t finished.“I’ve been there for two weeks, but that doesn’t mean I’m completely better,” Morant said. “That’s an ongoing process for me that I’ve still been continuing ever since I’ve been out.”The nightclub incident was just one in a series of concerning off-court situations in which people said they felt threatened by Morant or his associates, going back to last summer, according to reports in The Washington Post and The Athletic.During an interview with ESPN last week, Morant indicated he understood that he had played a role in those situations. But on Tuesday, while speaking with a group of reporters for the first time since his suspension, he responded defiantly when asked how he came to realize he was wrong.“I said I had a role, but I didn’t say anything about doing anything wrong, still,” Morant said. “So all those cases is sealed, so I can’t speak on those cases. When I have my time to, everybody will know the actual truth in every incident that I’ve been in.”Morant had rejoined the Grizzlies on Monday, but because he had not been working out while in Florida, he needed more time to prepare for a return. He addressed the team on Monday, but declined to share details of what he had said. It seemed meaningful to his teammates.“He’s talked to everybody, and the way he’s approaching things is very professional,” said Luke Kennard, who was traded to the Grizzlies six weeks ago. “And he’s keeping it straightforward with everybody. That’s what we want.”Morant is in his fourth season with the Grizzlies, having come to the team as a small but electrifying point guard out of Murray State. He is the leader on a talented young team that has been one of the best in the Western Conference all season even as Memphis has worked through extended injuries to key players.Last season, the Grizzlies had the second best record in the West, and businesses all over downtown Memphis painted images of Morant on their windows for the playoffs. The Grizzlies lost to the eventual champions, Golden State, in the second round, in a series that Morant thought Memphis could have just as easily won.Speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Morant seemed hesitant to commit to playing on Wednesday, even though Grizzlies Coach Taylor Jenkins had said he expected him to. Morant said he was “completely sorry” for bringing negative attention to the team and his family. He was defensive at times. He admitted he was uncomfortable standing there. One reporter asked what role alcohol might have played in some of his mistakes, and instead of answering that question, Morant said he “never had an alcohol problem.”On Wednesday morning, Morant smiled and joked with his teammates during the Grizzlies’ shootaround. Blake Ahearn, one of the team’s assistant coaches, looked warily at the baseline where a crowd of reporters had gathered to watch the end of the session.“Lot of people here today,” he said.Memphis had suddenly become the center of the N.B.A. world for reasons it never wanted. And as always, all eyes were on Morant.“He’s been kindhearted, lighthearted, he’s smiling,” guard Desmond Bane said after the shootaround. “I think he’s in a good spot. We had a short conversation and he said it’s the best spot he’s been in mentally since he got drafted.”Tee Morant, right, Ja’s father, wore a hoodie with the word “redemption” on the front to Wednesday’s game against the Rockets. Tee is a regular and vocal supporter at Ja’s games.Petre Thomas/USA Today Sports, via ReutersBefore Morant left home Wednesday afternoon, he said, he reflected on his feelings — the excitement and the apprehension — and talked himself through them. He said he meditated before the game.About 45 minutes before the game began, Morant arrived on the court to warm up, and members of his family sat courtside. Some of them wore sweatshirts with Morant’s image printed on them along with the word “redemption.”“That was my family’s idea,” Morant said. “It’s me coming back after some negative things have been said constantly throughout this whole basically, what, year and a half now? How I felt? Kind of like a redemption, obviously.”There again was a little bit of defiance, an implication that the real problem had been what people said about Morant, not what he had been doing. But he followed it with words that sounded more introspective and contrite.“It could have been worse,” Morant said. “I got a second chance. I feel like it’s only going to make it right. Show who Ja is as a person. And that’s my family’s message with the hoodies.”When fans saw Morant arrive, they started cheering. Jaren Jackson Jr., who scored a game-high 37 points for Memphis on Wednesday, tried to remain stone-faced. That didn’t last long.“I was cheesing,” Jackson said. “I couldn’t hold it in, for real.”Jackson began tracking the cheers: how fans in the lower deck cheered as soon as Morant came onto the court. How the people in the upper decks didn’t see him at first, but then cheered when the video board showed him. How they cheered again when Morant entered the game with about three minutes remaining in the first quarter. How they cheered a first-quarter dunk that Morant had woven through two defenders to make.“We just wanted him back,” Jackson said, smiling.The Grizzlies wrote a feel-good story on Wednesday night, but it is one that is still unsettled.It has been a little more than a week since Morant returned from the counseling center in Florida. It was an extraordinary step to take during an N.B.A. season, but, as Morant has noted, too short of a visit to make the kind of change necessary to assure his future. He will have months and years to confirm the sincerity of his commitment.Morant has the support of Grizzlies fans, who cheered him throughout his return to play on Wednesday.Justin Ford/Getty Images More