MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Ja Morant is still away from the Memphis Grizzlies taking time to address the issues that led to multiple violent allegations and the possession of a firearm at a Colorado nightclub, but the conversation around Morant’s behavior went too far, said Locked On Grizzlies podcast host Joe Mullinax on a recent episode of the podcast.
Mullinax explained that taking Morant’s behavior and turning it into examples of organized criminal activity or broken team culture is insulting to the Grizzlies and the city they play in.
“Ja Morant has a lot of growing up to do,” Mullinax said. “Nobody is disputing that. The national tone of the conversation regarding this young man … was disgusting. It was ill-informed, and it was an abomination to journalistic integrity.”
Morant became a rising star and sensational fan favorite almost immediately upon being drafted to the Grizzlies in 2019. And he has added playoff success and massive endorsement deals to his resume in the years since. This series of mistakes by Morant is no excuse to pile on and make the problem bigger than it is, Mullinax argued on Locked On Grizzlies.
“Ja Morant has made some mistakes, and he’s paying for those mistakes right now,” Mullinax said. “And maybe I shouldn’t be surprised … (but) it made light of issues that are happening in the city of Memphis. It tried to make correlations and connections that don’t exist."
“It put an entire community in a position to not be allowed to work through issues, or to not have the opportunity to defend itself while (media members) have the audience to spew venom that is not true, not fair, not correct and does not represent an entire community like Memphis.”
Morant has not been found guilty of any crime, and league investigations into past allegations of violence against friends or opposing teams have not resulted in punishments. A local police investigation of the Glendale club Morant was at with a gun during an Instagram Live on his account found no evidence of wrongdoing that would lead to filed charges against him.
At the same time, Grizzlies teammates have rallied around Morant and expressed support for him and the decisions he has made to step away and get help.
“I’m not going to excuse the behavior. He was wrong,” Mullinax said. “Be critical, but at the same time, have empathy.”