Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant has been sued for allegedly punching a Tennessee teenager in the face during a pickup game.
via: Complex
On Tuesday, TMZ reported that the 2022 NBA All-Star Starter was named in a suit filed in Shelby County, Tennessee in September of last year. The alleged punching itself, meanwhile, is said to have occurred at Morant’s home back in July. Noted early into the report and worth pointing out here is that the case has been sealed, although details of its central allegations were made public this week.
In short, the unidentified 17-year-old has alleged that the incident began when he and Morant became engaged in an argument during a pick-up basketball game on July 26. As the argument escalated, this individual has alleged, he tossed the ball toward Morant and “accidentally” struck the Memphis Grizzlies star. Morant is alleged to have responded to this by first approaching the individual and ultimately punching him and knocking him to the ground, at which point he allegedly hit him an additional number of times.
According to TMZ, which cited court and police documents in its Tuesday-published report, Morant is alleged to have told responding officials that he had acted in self-defense by hitting the individual. Furthermore, Morant is reported to have told police that the 17-year-old threatened him immediately following the incident.
What remains unclear at the time of this writing is the exact nature of what is being sought in the lawsuit, which is also reported to see Morant’s friend being named in connection with the allegations.
When reached for comment by Complex on Tuesday, a rep for the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that it previously declined to move forward with the case on their end.
“The DA’s office is aware of the incident, and after careful review of the facts, decided that there was not enough evidence to proceed with a case,” the rep told Complex in an email. “We cannot comment on a pending lawsuit.”
Complex has also reached out to reps for Ja Morant for additional comment. This story may be updated.
The Grizzlies recently kicked off the new year with a 118-108 win against the Sacramento Kings. During the game, which marked the team’s third consecutive win, Morant scored a total of 35 points and racked up eight rebounds and five assists.
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