Ja Morant has found himself at the center of controversy over his on-court celebrations, which have drawn significant attention from the NBA. The drama began during a Memphis Grizzlies loss to the Golden State Warriors, where Morant mimed shooting a finger gun at the opposing bench after scoring, sparking league scrutiny.
Following the incident, the NBA issued a warning to the Grizzlies star, noting that while the gestures were deemed inappropriate, they were not considered violent. The league cautioned Morant to refrain from such actions in the future. However, rather than dialing back, Morant doubled down.
In a dramatic finish against the Miami Heat, where Morant hit the game-winning shot, he once again used the same finger-gun celebration, blatantly disregarding the NBA’s prior warning. This time, the league responded with a $75,000 fine for his repeated use of the controversial gesture.
Morant escalated things further in the Grizzlies’ win against the Charlotte Hornets, debuting a new celebration. After draining a three-pointer, he mimicked throwing an imaginary grenade into the crowd, covering his ears as though shielding himself from the explosion.
He repeated the act during their subsequent loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. “That’s my celebration now until somebody else has a problem with it, and I’ll find another one,” Morant declared after Thursday’s shootaround, via ESPN.
Morant explains his celebrations
After the Hornets game, Morant addressed the new celebration during an interview with Grind City Media’s Michael Wallace. Speaking via The Gary Parrish Show, Wallace shared Morant’s reasoning.
“‘Listen, this is what I’m going to do,’ and these are in Ja’s words,” Wallace explained. “‘Listen, it’s not what you think it is. I’m taking my words, and I’m throwing them out there. I’m speaking Ja. I’m being Ja. I’m going to take my words, I’m going to throw them out there, and then I’m going to block out the noise’”.
Wallace elaborated on Morant’s sentiment. “When you see me do that, that’s what I’m doing. I’m saying what I got to say to the world, and I’m blocking out the noise in the midst of what’s coming back my way. And that’s how it’s going to be”.
Criticism over Morant’s celebrations
NBA legend Charles Barkley blasted Ja Morant’s behavior and former Grizzlies player Chandler Parsons joined in on the conversation. “It’s things like this that show a level of disrespect and disregard to the NBA’s wishes of not doing it,” Parsons said on FanDuel’s Run It Back show. “A level of immaturity and just zero growth as a professional NBA player that’s a role model for millions and millions of kids”.
Parsons didn’t stop there. “I just don’t get it. It’s sad, it’s disappointing, and again, this is a dude that’s on a slippery slope, man,” he added. “This guy has endorsements, millions of dollars. At this point, it’s not about money. You can’t do anything to this dude to make him stop clearly. It’s sad. I don’t know anything else because he’s so good at basketball, but now it’s just about ruining his image”.