Memphis Grizzlies’ starting point guard Ja Morant is currently under an immense amount of controversy after pulling out a gun in a Denver nightclub after a game.

“I think someone who has been gifted that much should be a role model for his community. He’s setting a pretty bad example when you do stuff like that and post it on social media,” said Luke Rathjen (‘24). 

After a hard loss on March 3rd against the Denver Nuggets, Morant decided to go out to a nightclub with his friends. No one knew that he was carrying a weapon on him.

“Overall, I think it was really dumb on his part. This situation changes my view of him because he did something that was very immature and I don’t think of him as highly,” said Laird Muise (‘26).

Back in 2019, Morant signed a multi-year contract with Nike, which offered him 200 million dollars. As well as signing with Nike in 2019, he signed a 4-year deal with the Memphis Grizzlies, who offered him 39.6 million dollars. 

“I think he should face definitely more than he has right now, which is a two-game suspension. I think it should be somewhere closer to around 20 or 30 [games]. If not, he should be out for the rest of the season,” said Muise. 

Morant is currently on a two-game suspension and it is now up to Adam Silver, Commissioner of the NBA, to decide his next punishment. 

The Memphis Grizzlies are facing extreme stress with the NBA playoffs just around the corner and not knowing when their star player is coming back. 

“This will affect the Memphis Grizzlies in the playoffs immensely because he is the best player on their team and their starting point guard. They will most likely play differently without him because they’re so used to him being there. They might not be able to make it as far and be as successful in the playoffs,” said Muise.