On Tuesday (Sept. 26), Nike Basketball’s Instagram account shared footage from a recent event in Memphis that was held for young players. As can be seen in the short clip, the kids were pleasantly surprised by an appearance from Ja Morant, who ran the court with them, provided a slew of Nike gear, and much more. Even the Grizzlies star’s father, Tee Morant, participated throughout.
As previously reported by REVOLT, Ja continues to work his way back to the NBA’s good graces after being hit with a 25-game suspension for the upcoming season. The disciplinary action was given after the then-23-year-old was caught waving what appeared to be gun a during a live stream, his second incident in a matter of months. “For Ja, basketball needs to take a back seat at this time,” wrote NBA Commissioner Adam Silver back in June. “Prior to his return to play, he will be required to formulate and fulfill a program with the league that directly addresses the circumstances that led him to repeat this destructive behavior.”
Not long after, Ja shared a statement apologizing for his mistakes and focusing on bettering himself. “I’m spending the offseason and my suspension continuing to work on my own mental health and decision-making. I’m also going to be training, so that I’m ready to go when I can get back on the court.”
Despite the situation, many have expressed an outpouring of support for the point guard, expecially in the world of hip hop. During a sit-down on Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes’ Showtime podcast “All The Smoke,” Lil Wayne essentially put himself in Ja’s shoes.
“He come from like a town with 3,000 people. Like, what? What y’all expect? Y’all gave him $200 million,” the Young Money legend said. “You expect him to be responsible? Now we tripping. That’s magic.”