The Shelby County (Tennessee) Sheriff’s Office confirmed to USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday that they had performed a wellness check on Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant after a series of cryptic social media posts from Morant worried many.
“Deputies checked on Ja Morant at his residence this morning and he is fine,” said Shelby County public information officer John Morris in an email to USA TODAY Sports. “He advised us that he is taking a break from social media.”
Their visit came after Morant, 23, posted a series of photos to his family with the words “love ya ma” and “love ya pops” and “you da greatest baby girl” plus a photo of himself with text that said “bye.”
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Morant was suspended indefinitely on Sunday, May 14 − Mother’s Day − after appearing to hold up a gun during a video. It’s the second time Morant has been suspended for gun-related issues; in March he was seen on Instagram Live holding a gun while visiting a Colorado nightclub. When the video circulated social media, the NBA suspended him eight games, and he spent time in a counseling program in Florida. Colorado police did not charge Morant with anything following the initial video.
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Morant returned to the court March 22. The Grizzlies were eliminated by the Lakers in the NBA playoffs on April 28.
On May 16, two days after the second incident, Morant released a statement.
“I know I’ve disappointed a lot of people who have supported me. This is a journey and I recognize there is more work to do,” Morant said. “My words may not mean much right now, but I take full accountability for my actions. I’m committed to continuing to work on myself.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who is expected to impose a severe suspension on Morant next season, told ESPN’s Malika Andrews before the NBA Draft lottery on May 16 that he was “shocked” by Morant’s second video because Silver’s understanding was that Morant was taking the initial situation “incredibly serious” following the conversation they had in March after the first incident.
“We talked directly about the consequences first,” Sliver said. “We were very focused on the misconduct that was in front of us at the time. Frankly, most of our conversation was about how incredibly serious the first incident was of waving a firearm on social media.”
