There's A Chance Ja Morant Could Possibly Be Suspended A Total Of 50 Games If It Turns Out That He Brought His Gun On The Team Plane
Yesterday, we learned that the police in Colorado opened an investigation into Ja's strip club video over the weekend. In that state, it's illegal to be in possession of a firearm while intoxicated, and something tells me Ja wasn't only drinking water in that club when he decided to fire up IG live and show off his gun.
So that's problem #1.
Problem #2 now involves what happens with the NBA, and Marc Stein brought to light a rather significant nugget when it comes to the CBA and guns
Uhhhhhh, yikes.
An automatic 50 games? You don't have to be a math major to figure out why that might be important. As of today, the Grizzlies have played 63 games, which means they have 19 remaining in the regular season. Even if every series they play in the postseason goes 7 games, that's a total of 28 games. Add that to the 19, and you get 47. Last time I checked, 50 is more than 47, so this would effectively end Ja's season if it were to happen. It also probably cooks their postseason chances, because remember the Grizzlies also just lost Brandon Clarke for probably a year with his torn achilles.
My question is, how is the NBA going to prove that Ja had this gun on the plane? Do players go through some sort of TSA or whatever before their flight? I'm way too poor to have any idea how private charters work, but don't you just show up and get on the plane? If Ja's camp decides to cut someone a check to say it was their gun and they brought it to the club, how do you prove otherwise? That doesn't solve the Colorado police issue, but that probably prevents a 50 game suspension right?
We then have to wonder if Adam Silver will use this as a way to make an example out of Ja to ensure shit like this doesn't happen again in his league. So let's say he avoids the 50 due to the CBA, I don't think that means we'll immediately see Ja on the court. He's probably going to end up getting suspended no matter what, it's now just a question of for how long.
There have been plenty of self-owns by professional athletes over the years, but this would certainly be pretty damn high on the list. Imagine your season and potential title dream all coming to an end because you wanted to flex on IG Live? Yikes. For what? Views? Fake internet clout? How's that working out for Ja at the moment I wonder.
As someone who enjoys watching Ja play basketball, it would be a big time bummer if we didn't see him again until next year. At the same time, I don't really have sympathy for someone who brings it upon themselves like this. Actions have consequences, even if you're an NBA star. Something tells me Ja is about to learn that the hard way.