Source: Kevork S. Djansezian / Getty
Since Ja Morant’s punishment was handed down in June following the NBA Finals, no one has spoken out until now.
Ja’s kept to himself and stayed out of the way, but now his father Tee has broken his silence on his son’s gun incidents and the importance of being surrounded by positive influences.
The NBA dad, spotted at the Up Next Elite Camp in New Orleans, spoke some truth to the young hoopers.
“Make sure anytime y’all anywhere, know the capabilities of everybody around you. My son didn’t get in trouble for the people around him. He got in trouble for his decisions,” he said. “Always be mindful of every decision you make because it can pretty much take over you and control you and make you think you are, who you’re not.”
He then assured them that while in the public eye, it’s important always to be aware of your surroundings, and the best way to do that is to assume everyone’s always got their eyes on you.
“The smallest things you can do, can make the biggest difference in your life,” he advised.
Tee jokes that he could take a different approach to speaking to the kids by yelling and cursing, but when talking about subjects that come directly from life’s experiences, he doesn’t feel the need to and gets emotional.
His son Ja Morant has been embroiled in controversy since he flashed a gun while at a Colorado nightclub in March. He entered a counseling program and was away from the team for several games. Despite speaking to Adam Silver about the issue, he committed a similar offense on Instagram Live just two months later.
While at the NBA Draft lottery, Silver spoke on the second incident, and like many NBA fans, he was astonished that Morant didn’t learn his lesson.
“Honestly, I was shocked when I saw this weekend that video,” Silver told ESPN’s Malika Andrews in May. “Now, we’re in the process of investigating it, and we’ll figure out exactly what happened to the best we can. The video is a bit grainy and all that, but I’m assuming the worst.”
That investigation eventually yielded a 25-game suspension that starts at the top of the 2023-24 season.
See how social media is reacting to Tee Morant addressing Ja’s gun-flashing incidents below.
