Last Updated: March 02, 2023, 10:58 IST
Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant was accused in police reviews final yr of punching a 17-year-old, US media reported Wednesday, his agent saying the rising NBA star acted in self-defence.
No felony costs have been filed towards Morant within the incident, which befell throughout a pickup basketball recreation at Morant’s Tennessee home in July 2022.
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In police information obtained by the Washington Post, the unnamed teenage boy accused Morant of punching him “12-13 instances” during a pickup basketball game at Morant’s Tennessee house in July 2022.
In interviews with police, the teen said that after their altercation Morant went into his house and “re-emerged with a gun visible in the waistband of his pants.”
Morant advised police he “swung first” but felt he was acting in self-defence after the teenager threw a basketball that hit him in the head, later making a comment that Morant found threatening.
Morant’s agent Jim Tanner strongly denied in a statement issued Wednesday that the player had a gun.
“The July 26 incident was purely self-defence,” Tanner stated in an announcement that was posted on Tandem Sports and Entertainment’s Twitter feed.
“Again, this was absolutely investigated by regulation enforcement, they got here to the choice to not cost Ja with any crime.
“Any of the handfuls of witnesses will affirm Ja acted in self-defence and that he didn’t have a firearm.”
Days before that incident, the head of security at a Memphis mall told police he felt “threatened” by Morant and a gaggle of his associates after an incident within the buying centre’s parking zone.
Although a police report was made, no costs have been filed.
TMZ reported in January that {the teenager} and his mom had sued Morant, and Tanner referred to as it “disturbing that unsubstantiated rumours and gossip are being put out by individuals motivated to tear Ja down and tarnish his fame for their very own monetary achieve.”
Morant, the second overall pick in the 2019 draft and a two-time All-Star, was embroiled in controversy in early February, when the NBA investigated allegations by the Indiana Pacers that Morant’s entourage “aggressively confronted” members of their travelling occasion, probably pointing a purple laser at them.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is revealed from a syndicated information company feed)
