Controversies off the NBA floor are starting to multiply for Ja Morant. The American newspaper The Washington Post has just revealed Wednesday that the star of the Memphis Grizzlies had been accused, in police reports last year, of hitting a 17-year-old boy. If the player's agent claimed that he had acted in self-defense, the case caused a stir across the Atlantic. However, no charges have been filed against Ja Morant regarding these facts, which occurred during an impromptu game at the player's home in Tennessee last July.

In the police report obtained by The Washington Post, the unnamed teen accuses Morant of hitting him "12 to 13 times." In interviews with police, he added that after their altercation, "Morant went to his house and reappeared with a gun visible in the waistband of his pants."


Ja Morant. Hustle.

21 PTS, 6 REB, 4 ASThttps://t.co/0rrSPxOHD0 pic.twitter.com/P1ztRUJW66

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"He didn't have a gun," his agent said.

Questioned by the police, the whimsical basketball player admitted to having "swung first", acting according to him in self-defense. The teenager allegedly threw a ball at him that hit him in the head, accompanying his gesture with a comment that the 23-year-old playmaker found threatening. Ja Morant's agent, Jim Tanner, strongly denied in a statement Wednesday that the player had a gun. "The July 26 incident was absolutely self-defense," he said in a statement posted on Twitter.

"Once again, this was thoroughly investigated by law enforcement and decided not to prosecute Ja," Tanner said. Any of the dozens of witnesses will confirm that Ja acted in self-defense and did not have a firearm. For TMZ, Jim Tanner called it "disturbing that unfounded rumors and gossip are spread by people motivated to demolish Ja and tarnish her reputation for their own financial gain."


Pacers felt 'in grave danger'

Days before the incident, the head of security at a Memphis mall told police he felt "threatened" by Morant and a group of friends in the mall's parking lot. A police report had been drawn up without leading to prosecution. The second pick in the 2019 draft was further embroiled in controversy last month, when the NBA investigated the Indiana Pacers' allegations.

The franchise accused Ja Morant's entourage of "aggressively confronting" team members and staff just after a game between the two teams. In particular, they would have pointed a red laser in their direction. One of the Pacers' security guards was convinced it was the laser associated with a firearm. "We felt we were in grave danger," one witness told The Athletic. The NBA seems to hold with Ja Morant its jewel king of the Top 10 but also a sacred bad boy in power.

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