Ja Morant Reps: Washington Post Report ‘Irresponsible, Defamatory’

The agents for Grizzlies star point guard Ja Morant called a Washington Post report that he beat up a teenager during a pickup basketball game and brandished a weapon “reckless,” saying the incident did not happen as described.

“Today, a Washington Post journalist chose to post a blatant lie to social media, claiming Mr. Morant pointed a gun at a 17-year old,” Morant’s lawyer, S. Kennan Carter, wrote in a statement posted to the TANDEM Twitter account. “There was not and is not basis for this defamatory statement. To be clear — this did not happen and no one claims that it did other than one irresponsible journalist.”

Morant admitted to police that he swung first after the other player reportedly threw a basketball at Morant, hitting him in the head. At the time, the incident was viewed as little more than a pickup basketball game scuffle.

“The July 26 incident was purely self-defense,” Morant’s agent, Jim Tanner said in the statement. “Again, this was fully investigated by law enforcement, they came to the decision not to charge Ja with any crime.

“Any of the dozens of witnesses will confirm Ja acted in self-defense and that he did not have a firearm. The Post chose to leave that out of the article.”

Statements from Jim Tanner and Keenan Carter on today’s Washington Post reporting: pic.twitter.com/hTYz4rw8UA

— TANDEM (@_tandemse) March 1, 2023

Morant, 23, is not at the moment facing any legal issues as a result of the incident. On the floor, he’s putting together another fantastic season, with averages of 27.1 points and career-highs of 8.2 assists and 6.0 rebounds.

The Grizzlies (38-23) enter Thursday in first place in the Southwest Division, sporting the second-best record in the Western Conference.