Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, 23, is under scrutiny from the N.B.A. again after he flashed an object that looked like a gun in a carefree manner during an Instagram Live video posted over the weekend.
The video, which appeared to be posted on Saturday, came just over two months after the N.B.A. suspended Morant for displaying a gun in a live Instagram video filmed at a nightclub near Denver. He expressed remorse then, saying that the gun did not belong to him and that he would be better.
On Sunday, the Grizzlies said in a statement that they had suspended Morant from all team activities pending the league’s review of the new video. Memphis was eliminated from the playoffs last month after losing to the Lakers in the first round. Mike Bass, a league spokesman, said the N.B.A. was “aware” of the post and was gathering more information.
In March, the league suspended Morant for eight games after the nightclub video. N.B.A. Commissioner Adam Silver noted Morant’s “enormous following and influence” in the announcement of that suspension, which classified the gun incident as conduct detrimental to the league. That Instagram Live video was posted early on March 4, when, the N.B.A. said, Morant had been “in an intoxicated state.” Morant soon checked into a facility in Florida for counseling.
“I’m going to take some time away to get help and work on learning better methods of dealing with stress and my overall well-being,” Morant said at the time in a statement, which was posted on Twitter by Tandem, the agency that represents him.
In contrast to Sunday, when the Grizzlies suspended Morant, the team first responded to March’s incident less pointedly, simply saying that Morant would step away from the team. Coach Taylor Jenkins shied away from criticizing Morant when addressing reporters then and offered few details about any conversations he or the team might have had with Morant.
Morant later said going to counseling was his idea.
The nightclub…