As debates ensue over how long the NBA should suspend Ja Morant for, JJ Redick wants to know why the Memphis Grizzlies superstar is being used as an exemplary measure.
On Sunday, the Grizzlies announced Morant was being suspended indefinitely after the 23-year-old appeared to flash a gun on Instagram Live. It marked the second time in three months that Morant was suspended for broadcasting a gun on social media. In March, Morant similarly appeared to display a gun on Instagram Live, resulting in an eight-game suspension and a brief check-in at a Florida counseling program.
Morant was associated with several gun-related incidents during the NBA season, leading to speculation that this latest incident could garner him a massive suspension. Wednesday morning on First Take, Redick admitted Morant deserves a punishment, but questioned why the NBA superstar should be dealt with differently than GOP lawmakers who endorse the country’s pervasive gun culture.
JJ Redick asks “Why are we trying to lay down the hammer on a 23-year-old who didn’t break a law?” when there’s no consequence for Greg Abbott telling people to buy more guns pic.twitter.com/dUc8imA9dj
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 17, 2023
“As far as we know, all of these things have been investigated and no law has been broken,” Redick said of the gun-related incidents that Morant has been linked to in recent months. “I’m not condoning the behavior. I’m not saying there should be no punishment. There should be. There should be consequences. You are the face of the league, you are representing the NBA, you are a role model to young kids. I don’t think half a season is the right answer.”
“We talk about consequences,” Redick continued. “In our country right now, gun culture is pervasive. It’s pervasive, we’ve got mass shooting after mass shooting and nobody’s doing a damn thing about it. So I get why we’re so sensitive to this right now, but there’s no consequence for Greg Abbott telling his constituents that they should go buy more guns and then we have mass shooting after mass shooting in Texas. There’s no consequence for an elected Tennessee official to send out a Christmas card holding AR-15s with his young family and then there’s a shooting in his very district, there’s no consequences to that! So why are we trying to lay down the hammer on a 23-year-old who didn’t break a law? Explain that to me!”
While Redick’s passion is commendable, the difference is that the NBA has its own governing body and attempts to campaign against gun violence. NBA commissioner Adam Silver isn’t going to say, ‘Greg Abbott is facilitating a pervasive gun culture, so we’ll let our players follow suit.’
Morant shouldn’t be branded as a bad person when he hasn’t been found to be doing anything illegal. But Morant’s repeated association with gun-related incidents is bad for the brand of a league that strives not to feed into the country’s gun culture problem.
