The NBA Star Who Wants to Be a Gangster (Ja Morant)

for many inner city kids in America there's a notion of having two options rap or go to the league an idea that numerous artists and writers have referenced over the years it speaks to the only option that kids who grew up in the hood have to make it out and Forge a better life for themselves and for thousands of people who strive to find fortune in the studio or on the court this was the reality but what happens when a kid from a small town in North Carolina with a middle class two parent household upbringing decides to start acting like he was From The Trenches when the world's eyes are finally on him well the answer is that he heads down a strange path of posturing and potentially life-altering decisionmaking which strands to overshadow their incredible skills on the court it's one thing for you to do stupid idiotic irresponsible things it's another thing for you to catch yourself and only now after being taught some harsh lessons is he starting to see the light it's your boy Lea and this is how John morant's wannabe gangster phase almost ruined his career if you ask Memphis Grizzlies as John Mor what it's like to be him he'll inform you that he's always carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders how stressful can it be being John Mor very um and I felt like you know I didn't pay enough attention to that you know when it got rough and you know I pretty much just let it all build up and um that's why I felt like you know I needed you know my time away to you know better myself and you know become a more healthy job but the truth is that things haven't had to be quite as difficult as he's made them born and raised in doel South Carolina an area with an air base and a population of 3,000 whose crime is 41% below the national average John Moran's aptitude for basketball first came to the Forefront at Crestwood High School from there he played in one of the Premier teams in amateur athletic Union basketball with the South Carolina Hornets before heading to college to head up two seasons with the Murray State Racers after becoming an all American this hotly tipped Talent was the second over all pick in the 2019 Drft when the Memphis Grizzlies decided to take the chance on him and courtesy of his incredible season in 2020 he became NBA Rookie of the Year as well as a two-time Allstar a point guard who's as versatile as they come jaw is a generational talent and now he's living out his father T morant's dream to accomplishing what the former baller who played with Ray Allen at Crestwood High School never managed to like you said like a friendly guy like everybody loves him uh down to earth uh take cares of everybody you know show everybody you know love no matter if he knew you for you know years or three minutes he treat everybody the same and that's you know with love and care for me you know growing up you know I always said he was my first hater so now to see him on the sideline running up and down jumping up cheering it was different for me as well but now it's like all right now he's kind of you know showing me and now it gave me you know even more confidence when I'm out there playing that all right if he cheering and he's happy then I know I'm doing something right because of all these tributes jaw earned immense praise for his Never Say Die attitude and impeccable abilities on the hardwood he TS the talk and then goes out there and says give me the damn ball I ain't hid it you remember this the historian that you are mad dog when you look at George car example former great coach Seattle Milwaukee various other places in tremendous coach Denver let's not forget that George call talked about how you got a whole bunch of dudes that want to be Max guys they want the money but they don't want the moment they don't want the max moment they don't want that moment that defines what greatness is all about that ain't jaran jaran is the kind of dude he wants that moment as he said he wants the smoke he's walking up the chimney they want all of it even when he missed that game win a shot in game one it's your willingness to take it the fact that everybody knows don't even think about shooting a damn bull we got to get into this dude because this dude will have a heart attack if you don't give it to him he wants the moment and when you look at star s in the NBA that's what really personifies who they are LeBron in the latter years not the earlier years in the latter years definitely so dwade definitely so Kobe definitely so you look Steph Curry Kevin Durant people like that this is what you see this is why Klay Thompson is going into the Hall of Fame one day because you saw game six when he hits you know three pointers and drops 41 points and stuff like that moments Define startle and this is what John Mor is is not hesitant to give you he seems to know it he seems to know what it requires and that's part of being a face of a franchise and of league and I'm telling you he's got a chance after striking deals with Nike and power rate among others jaw's demonstratable value to the league meant that by July 2022 he was essentially set for life on the financial front by inking a 5year $183 million extension with the Grizzlies but from almost the moment that contract was Inked the Grizzlies would be wondering if they made a mistake as now that he had more money than he ever needed Moran's Focus drifted in ways that no one including the team would have imagined and left people wondering why this kid from South Carolina seemed intent on destroying everything he had built among all the accolades jaw received the one he likely valued the most was being Nam dropped in hip-hop tracks joining the ranks of basketball Stars immortalized in rap artists would always reference him in their lyrics solidifying his presence in the culture a devoted hip-hop fan himself jaw has even admitted that he listens almost exclusively to trap music before stepping on the court young boy baby money a bit of that while it's not exactly unusual for NBA stars to love hip-hop jaw started taking it one step further suddenly he was talking like he was a boastful rapper on a track about their opponents before achieving anything who do you look at around the league as you're studying and say hey we're going to have to run through them Celtics no one in the west nah I'm fine in the west and with that J got roasted for his overconfidence or as Klay Thompson put it you can't talk Dynasty when you haven't won before I don't think people realize how hard that is the commitment and sacrifice it takes I mean you got to sacrifice your body and I thought that was premature talk you know what to talk off the court jaw began to adopt a brand new image too suddenly decked out in jewelry from rappers his favorites like Johnny Deng he began flashing Diamond grills at press conferences how much money like 30k if you if you if you do the diamonds you got to go big you feel me there you go now this didn't immediately ring alarm Bells after all vaguely cosplaying as your favorite MC's is one thing but the problem comes when you try to inhibit the lifestyles of those gangster rappers whose experiences you're only familiar with through your car stereo speakers and Shar this is what johnar was about to Do complete with guns gang signs and getting himself suspended from the sport he loves over stupid decisions it was around September 2022 when things really started to go off the rails at a time where he had a new signature Nike shoe a top selling jersey and playing an instrumental role in providing the Grizzlies with the second best record in the Western Conference stories of jaw embracing his inner Thug started coming to light for starters security at a Memphis Mall told police that Morant threatened him during an altercation in the parking lot this came about after his mom had an issue with a fellow Finish Line employee prompting Morant to arrive with a massive Entourage as the group was leaving the premises johnar reportedly said let me find out what time he gets off while the guard said that he felt threatened by the statement from John morand but this was only the beginning in September of 2022 it was widely reported online that jaw punched a 17-year-old during a pickup game which left a large knot on the side of his head with the boy claiming that jaw hit me like 12 to 13 times Mor later admitted that he swung first after the kid threw a ball at his head but what jaw didn't reveal was that he wasn't exactly ready to let it go according to a report the teenager told detectives from the Shelby County Sheriff's Office that after the fight Mor went into his house and reemerged with a gun visible in the waistband of his pants his hands on the weapon then he allegedly threatened I'm going to come back and light this place up like fireworks fortunately his father stepped in before before things escalated any further his dad was yelling at him like no no no go back go back in the house his lawyer Jim Tanner dismissed the claims calling them unsubstantiated rumors and gossip and arguing that they were put out by people motivated to tear jaw down and tarnish his reputation for their own financial gain and at the time everyone seemed willing to give jaw the benefit of the doubt after all it's not like it's the first time that someone has con knocked at a story to try and exore a famous athlete out of their hard-earned cash but the problem is that his appetite for Gunplay was about to become all too clear after a hard-fought loss in which Mor got into it with some staff at the arena someone in morant's vehicle allegedly pointed the laser sight of a gun towards members of the Indiana Pacers organization and after the cumulative weight of all these stories came down people began to look at jaw a little sideways and almost straight away some people were ready to write him off once and for all this clown is a thug a highly paid Thug others showed little sympathy and believed that he was simply trying to do something he wasn't johnar is a is a prime example of a man that's living his teenage identity as a grown man you know what he's struggling with his identity his father played with Ray Allen his mother was a softball player so we know in the Forefront of the house it was Sports he's grown up he's watching people he wanted to be tough and now he's messing up the bag he's a bad example and he we on his ass he [ __ ] up [ __ ] up the bag he's actively [ __ ] so they said trying to [ __ ] up the B suddenly the kid who was so humble when he was given his opportunity at the NBA draft and spent years training in the backyard with his father to get there was embodying a life far removed from his and this extended to his fondness on social media too prone to sharing stories of him and his friends wilding out jaw initially didn't see a problem with what he was doing and you were certainly the topic of a bunch of things on social media cuz you were going IG live and showing everyone the fun you were having what did you think about the reaction that people had to you being on IG live um that's a good question um I honestly just feel like you know in my job my profession that I feel like you know people kind of uh think you know we're not human as well like I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who goes and have a drink um but because I'm on IG live and fans around the world you know see it I feel like they kind of you know blew it up like you know some was you know J having the time of his life you know he's living which you know I feel like I should you know I achieved my my dream I feel like every day you should celebrate life um especially if if you wake up that morning I feel like you can you know you can never take uh life for granted but his mom warned him about lashing out at fans it really be my mom she be trying to you know get me off of Twitter all the time like don't even go on Twitter don't look at your phone like that I'll be seeing people talking all the time before games after games I normally don't say too much you know before uh sometimes I want to but you know I'll be like nah we got to lock in on the game like you know just let the win you know do the talking or whatever so then after the fact if we win now I can say whatever I want because many times jaw strayed a little too far from mocking his haters to making actual threats or talking like he was raised in Compton jaw why do you get on here thugging you are rich cuz the money won't ever change me been on that still on that forever on that don't ever speak on it it's free to see how Hollows feel with the average NBA viewer's patience wearing thin people began to compare jaw to Papa do the bad guy from M&M's 8 Mile who acts tough and then is later revealed to have gone to a good school and whose parents have a real good marriage on the other hand people found it straight up embarrassing to watch him abandon his real upbringing for a fake persona it's cringe to see someone raised the right way suddenly claiming a street life the obsession with looking tough is getting out of hand despite the tide of public opinion churning on jaw he decided not to back down but double down and soon he was seen in a nightclub with a pistol and if he thought that people were heated at all his posturing before this may think 10 times worse particularly when people would kill for the opportunity that he was now squandering what bothers me the most is not him ruining his own career but that young man will watch this and look up to his behavior even without the millions all it takes is one bad choice make a change for the better even if it takes changing your circle of so-called friends and almost immediately the backlash turned into punishment hours after the Grizzlies basketball game Mor was seen on his personal Instagram inside of a club holding what appears to be a gun in his hand while listening to music the post comes at a time where Moran is facing heavy scrutiny for a string of off the courts incidents in one case he's accused of punching a teenage boy during a pickup basketball game Mor is also accused of threatening a security guard at a Memphis Mall this past summer regarding this latest incident the Grizzlies announced that Morant will be away from the team for at least two games following the controversial Instagram post moments ago Mor is issued a statement through his agent saying quote I take full responsibility for my actions last night I'm sorry to my family teammates coaches fans Partners the city of Memphis and the entire Grizzlies Organization for letting you down I'm going to take some time away to get help and work on learning better methods of dealing with stress and my overall wellbeing as pressure mounted on the Grizzlies to do something about it the NBA den intervened and handed him an 8G game suspension for conduct detrimental to the league in the aftermath jaw entered therapy and claimed he was intent on working on himself and in his first interview before returning he inferred that he had to cut ties with his inner circle over what went down you know I'm big on loyalty but you know I had like I said have to you know be there for myself after you know put myself in good position so you know I have to know find out you know who's really for me and who's going to help me you know be in good positions at all times um and you know that's the decisions I have to make you know deis you know I felt good about and very comfortable about that you know I'm going be in a positive you know light now with everything you know that I've made um everything that I've learned um in my two weeks and in a less than gangster move jaw also said it wasn't his gun who gun were you holding well the gun wasn't mine you know it's not who I am I don't condone and any type of violence um but I take you know full responsibility you know for my actions um made a you know bad mistake um and I can see uh the image you know that I I painted you know over myself you know with my recent mistakes but you know in the future um I'm going to show everybody who J really is you know what I'm about and um you know change this narrative that you know everybody got pained Over Me Above All jaw's main intention with the interview was to suggest that miraculous change had happened during his time away from the court which had cost him about $669,000 in forfeited salary pretty much just trying to be free you know I used that as a Escape which I shouldn't have and I feel like that's the reason you know I made many you know bad decisions you know in my past which doesn't you know pretty much describes me doesn't describe J as a person you know I'm totally different person you know than what's been shown you know in the media um you know that's my job now that's why I took that time away to you know become a better J so everybody really can you know see who J really is and you know what he's about in the interview with Jaylen Rose Moran put his BR skills to work he said all the right things and provided the right sound bites to put forth the message that he was a new and improved jaw but there was immediate skepticism from his fans it took him 10 days to memorize the answers he needed to give the media he never seemed mentally stressed a great publisher once said don't believe what a person says believe what they do courtesy of his recent Antics all eyes were on jaw when he returned to the court particularly after all of his online posturing and other incidents like throwing up [ __ ] mid celebration in the first half 17 points for John Mor coming up on the Met after all that happened jaw had a second chance to prove that he wasn't The Wanted be gangster that everyone feared and this was merely a lapse in judgment or more accurately several lapses in judgment but those hopes all came crashing down when he did it again just 2 months later Memphis Grizzly Star John Morant has been suspended for a second time after once again appearing to flash a gun on social media the video circulated on Saturday night it shows Morant with what appears to be a handgun while he's riding in a friend's car yesterday the Grizzlies said they were aware of the video and suspended Morant from All Team activities pending League review in March Mor was suspended for eight games after he was seen holding a gun inside a nightclub on Instagram live a representative former rant did not immediately respond to request for comment instantly banned from All Team activities jaw would end up receiving a huge 25 game ban ja Moran's decision to once again wield a firearm on social media is alarming and disconcerting giving his similar conduct in March for which he was already suspended eight games said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver the potential for other young people to emulate jaw's conduct is particularly concerning under these circumstances we believe a suspension of 25 games is appropriate it makes clear that engaging in Reckless and irresponsible Behavior with guns will not be tolerated for job basketball needs to take a backseat at this time prior to his return to play he will be required to formulate and fulfill a program with the league that directly addresses the circumstances that led him to repeat this destructive Behavior while Adam Silver's concerns seemed to be constructive the frustration that was felt by others over such a talented kid trading it in just to act tough was so overwhelming that it boiled over into anger for one thing he was taken a task by Joe Buton and the crew for discarding his real image in favor of the veneer of gang life that he was now enlisting I know your upbringing wasn't uh wasn't that bad cuz you got all your V you got your natural all your teeth [ __ ] 32 of them and his dad's at every game like you say and your dreads look good [ __ ] Li your locks look good go to Jamaica with them dreads I'm just saying like you your dad is at every game your dad lives next door talk about Steven Adams is on your team talk about discipline and in sports pundit circles individuals like Shannon sharp felt that he could only learn his lesson the hard way skip I think a lot of people say wanted me to come out here today and say I'm surprised I'm shocked shocked I'm disappointed in JW's behavior and I'm not I said before the best apologist change behavior and when he was going through all this di tribe about what he learned about being away from the games Skip and how important it was to him I say I see better than I hear I heard everything J said and I say now moving forward I'm going to see if the behavior meets what he said and clear right on and so at this point in time skip where I am I'm not even upset at y' I'm not mad I'm not disappointed I'm not embarrassed I'm mad I'm upset I'm disappointed I'm disgusted by the people that defended him dude is a living example of how to Fumble a bag Dylan Brooks I'm going to be the biggest clown in the NBA John Morant hold my gun then there was the testimony of people who had really been in those shoes he seemed so eager to fill as the second suspension was handed down he was taken a task for throwing up [ __ ] and other incidents by Kon Johnson a former wide receiver in the NFL who was really about that life in his youth in fact when he was just in e8th grade Quan spent 9 months in the California youth facility after being arrested for possession of marijuana cocaine and a concealed handgun to him the whole thing just made no sense he shouldn't be there man I grew up in the streets of Los Angeles in the ghetto okay I grew up around gangs and gun violence I've been shot before my sisters have been shot before that's not it it just really isn't you you you and I'm not even talking about the money but you put yourself in a position cuz first of all you're not from the streets so let's let's stop that let's not let's just stop it that's why people that are from the streets are kind of ticked off off about his behavior because they would they would die to be in his shoes and then he continue to put himself in this position you don't do nothing but alienate these individuals and make them mad when you you know you having fun or whatever you doing but you out there looking real silly instead of saying no you know what that's not what I want to do I just want to play basketball he's a basketball player and he needs to really and there people around him they need to really get him to understand man you play basketball you don't want that that life right there that club guns alcohol that that's not it another individual who warned him that the life was nothing to take a field trip into was brick baby a [ __ ] member who suggested that what he was doing was the polar opposite of the route anyone who's really about that life wants to take you know he got a $200 million contract yeah what the [ __ ] you want to live like a rapper for if you ain't From The Trenches why do you get money and want to live like this where you from and everybody that's in the trenches Want To Be Like You the are you even doing you got 200 million we know it's a gun somewhere around you you got security outside of your homeboys or whoever you and then and then nobody even bringing light to the fact that this [ __ ] ass [ __ ] J that told him it wasn't his gun oh it wasn't even my gun in the video so who gun was it and for those Inside the NBA itself there were concerns over not only his career but his safety going forward some of the things that he finds himself engaged in uh with the company that he keeps uh with the establishments that he he visits things of that nature and obviously he feels compelled pretty much all the time to have a gun around them and so that brings into question all of those things that I just mentioned that again I'm not at Liberty to speak on but I can tell you this I'm from the streets of New York City and a lot of players I know are from the streets period And I can tell you that people within the NBA Community are not just concerned about John Morant playing basketball they're concerned about whether or not he's going to be alive in 5 years because of the environments that he finds himself around and the situations he finds himself confronting to BU it's a serious matter and it's something that I think that the NBA and everybody um that knows anything about the kind of things that are going on with him find themselves concerned about wow others were less Grim about the whole thing and simply wished to give advice at a time when it was the hottest issue in the Sports World Lil Wayne used his own life experiences to discuss how jaw was living up to the wrong expectations you know what is the I was like what's the necessity part of doing you know doing that what's that what you know posting yourself saying this what I look what I'm doing I was like what I mean by that is cuz I'm trying to figure I'm trying to you know quote do the cliche put myself in his shoes understanding and I was like so I was like so the best I can do without them answering before they answered that question I told them where my where I was at with it I said so the best time best time I was like so the best I could do is remember when I was younger and my my home my squad y'all my my [ __ ] around me when and we we at the age where they don't have money so if I was going through something at that point in time something public like with slime going through I said I could imagine the rebel the rebellious attitude I would have if my hom is is egging that attitude on right but unlike most people Wheezy actually suggested his gangster credentials might have been realer than most people were giving him credit for cuz he ain't no Thug cuz he ain't industry he ain't about that you know you do you don't want that how y'all know you don't want y'all know that boy do y'all know that boy cuz I don't I know him from dunking and jumping and I only started knowing him when I started paying attention to him run his last year last year college I all I he come from like a town with 3,000 people like what what y'all y'all what you gave yall gave him $20 million I just sit a town with 3,000 people you expect him to be responsible now we tripping then yeah now we tripping we expecting him to be that's that's magic cuz I can tell you now I come from a real well raised beautiful mother nice you know what I mean my mom bust her ass to make sure everything around me was nice I still was a knucklehead I shot myself you know what I mean so despite his best intentions tuni couldn't get through to ja in fact he ghosted him after he attempted to reach out through skip bis texted me he said hey can you connect me with ja because I I could help him I've been there I've done all this I wound up in prison on Riker's Island I I know what happens I know where you can go wrong and I know what's right I said I'll try and I reached out to ja would you sit with little Wayne would you talk with little Wayne Wayne would fly to him he'd fly to Memphis in in a heartbeat tonight Wayne would private plane it and go right to Memphis if he thought he could save a career and a soul I got nothing back but even if it wasn't Wayne who got through him it appears that something eventually switched within jaw as before long he would be on a Redemption Arc that seems to suggest that he learned just how coveted the spot he's in truly is just one week before returning to the court jaw had to deal with another consequence of his years worth of misguided Behavior he turned up to the court and faced his civil suit over the allegations that he beat up a 17-year-old and you recall where hit you left side of my face you I mean yeah did feel good n were you surprised yeah immediately this seemed like a newly centered job he even took it in his stride as the conduct in the court got progressively ridiculous are those real [Music] diamonds I'm a millionaire fair enough while he was freed from any lawsuit hovering over him jaw still couldn't have been feeling good because after everything he had done his team was faltering without him in a way that could have been avoided going one and six at the beginning of the season and people didn't let him forget either the Memphis Grizzly walked in the Sunday night's game against the Portland trailblade 0 and six this is a team that is considered a title Contender when John Morant is on the court with him off the court these dudes are winless if John Morant was on the floor we wouldn't be thinking about them like this we would going to be looking at an 0 and6 mempis Grizzlies team is he off the court because he's injured no is he off the court because some kind of family emergency or come out of some kind of tragedy that took place no he's off the court because he wasn't thinking about his teammates when he was on it see y'all out there encouraging people to do what you want to do when you want to do it how you want to do it while you got your hand out for somebody else's money shut the hell up how that work out for him now it's all right to love somebody and be pissed off at them for getting in their own way you ain't selling out you looking out initially fans didn't know what to expect from jaw when it was time for him to step back onto the court but jaw himself insisted that he was more than ready to return uh it's been a process um obviously thankful for you know the support you know I had during this time obviously it's not easy you know not being out there on the floor and you know having to watch but um you know with everything else you know being around the team being able to practice being able to travel um you know the guys just constantly you know uh talking to me and you know vice versa uh it's been good and sure enough he was his return in December 2023 against the New Orleans Pelicans scoring 27 of 34 points since then jaw has kept his nose clean and committed himself to the Grizzlies flanked by other informed players like jiren Jackson Jr and Canadian rookie Zack Eddie jaw has guided the Memphis team to their current position of fourth in the Western Conference despite getting less game time jaw has earned 20. 7 points per game and 44. 7 from the field 7.

4 assists per game 32. 1% from the three and 55.