By DJ James // Gun Violence // EEW Magazine Online

The Memphis Grizzlies’ star point guard Ja Morant is in hot water again after being caught on social media holding a gun for the second time in less than three months.

Since gun violence has taken a disproportionate toll on Black communities, resulting in tens of thousands of gun deaths and hundreds of thousands of gun injuries, some are outraged by the 23-year-old’s actions.

Stacey, a 40-year-old Memphis mom of three teenaged sons—and huge Morant fans—expressed concern to EEW Magazine.

“I teach my sons about the dangers of gun violence and how firearms are not toys,” said Stacey, who believes Morant’s example could potentially lead to negative consequences for young, impressionable boys that follow him.

“Although I teach my sons right from wrong, when Black young men see one of their favorite basketball players glamorizing guns on social media, it appears cool and trendy and less taboo despite what I may say,” she added.

Though mothers like Stacey admit that it is not athletes’ jobs to raise children, they believe there should be some measures taken to use their influence responsibly.

“Guns are a problem in Black communities where violence has had a particularly devastating impact on young Black men,” Jacqueline Wilson, a cultural analyst and inner-city youth mentor in Philadelphia said.

“In 2022, one in every 67 Black men ages 18 to 24 in Philadelphia were killed or injured in gun homicides or shootings. In Rochester, New York, it was one in 50 young Black men. In Cincinnati, it was one in 44 young Black men,” she told EEW Magazine, citing research statistics.

Morant, who recently completed a stint in rehab after his first string of off-court controversies including the first gun incident seemed to have an awakening. “I’ve just got to be better with my decision-making,” Morant said at the end of April after a season-ending loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. “Off-the-court issues affected us as an organization, he added, while acknowledging that he needs “more discipline.”

Considering his apparent realization that he needed to do better, fans and followers were surprised to see the high-profile athlete slip back into old patterns so quickly. At present, Morant is in limbo — awaiting the outcome of yet another NBA investigation.

Syracuse professor of sport management Rick Burton said, “I don’t think they can hit pause on this. I think that there will be too much demand for, ‘What are you going to do?’”

Another question is what more can be done? The NBA already suspended the two-time All-Star guard eight games in March for livestreaming himself holding an apparent handgun in Colorado. That cost him about $669,000 in salary.

Despite that, Morant still has endorsement deals with Nike and the sports drink Powerade, which is owned by Coca-Cola, though Powerade pulled his ad almost immediately after the March video. Representatives of Nike, which started selling Morant’s Ja 1 shoes on April 19, did not return a message from The Associated Press.

Morant remained among Twitter’s top trending topics nationally even 24 hours after his latest suspension and drew criticism from fans.

Morant is projected to be paid $33.5 million for the 2023-24 season if the NBA salary cap is $134 million. A suspension of 20 games or fewer would cost Morant $231,034 per game while more than 20 games would mean he loses $304,545 a game.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.