Ja Morant Gun Incident Comes with Hefty Price for Grizzlies Star

Ja Morant, a guard for the Memphis Grizzlies, has been suspended by the NBA for eight games without pay after the league found that his gun possession at a club in suburban Denver earlier this month constituted "conduct detrimental to the league."

When the Grizzlies play in Miami on Wednesday, Ja Morant will miss his sixth game. He will miss the next two games but can play against Dallas on Monday.

Ja Morant's Suspension Could Lose Him $660,000

The already-missed games will be added to the suspension, and Morant will lose nearly $669,000 in compensation.

Ja Morant's behavior was "irresponsible, reckless, and potentially very dangerous," according to a statement by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. With his huge popularity and influence, particularly among young followers who look up to him, it also has major ramifications, Silver said, as per NBC News.

On Wednesday, Silver visited Ja Morant in New York before making the league's decision public. The league stated that Morant traveled to New York City to meet with NBA commissioner Adam Silver last week after entering a therapy program in Florida but has since departed and met with Silver on Wednesday.

According to the league's press statement, they did not determine that the pistol in question belonged to Morant, was carried into the nightclub by him, or was exhibited for an extended amount of time.

The announcement said Morant did not have the firearm while traveling with the team or at an NBA facility. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports that Morant's ban covers the six games he's missed, including tonight's game against Miami. He is eligible to play against the Dallas Mavericks on Monday.

Ja Morant Gun Incident

On Monday night, the 23-year-old Morant recently began the program after being suspended by the team for flashing a pistol on an Instagram livestream while partying at a strip club after a game against the Denver Nuggets.

Monday night, before his team's game against the Dallas Mavericks, Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins stated, "There are a lot of internal dialogues, and clearly, there are still things going on at the league level that we are in communication with."

Memphis, which defeated Dallas 104-88, said on March 4 that Morant would miss "at least the next two games" and then offered an update on March 8 stating that he would miss "at least the next four games."

Leaked photographs from the 23-year-night old's at the strip club revealed that he spent $50,000 while behaving as would be anticipated at such a venue. Notwithstanding the criticism and humiliation he has endured, the bar proprietor known as 'Shotgun Willie's' was quite supportive of Morant's behavior during the night.

Morant and his image have recently been under scrutiny owing to several claims of off-court infractions that have made him the newest villain in the NBA. Before the incident at the strip club, Morant was under criticism when it was revealed in a court report that he and an accomplice assaulted a youngster "12 to 13 times" after playing basketball at Morant's residence.

According to Daily Mail, even though the 17-year-old is believed to have initiated the fight by hurling and hitting Morant with a basketball from close range, the news that Morant walked inside a house and reappeared with a pistol after the beating resulted in severe condemnation for him.