Ja Morant was suspended for eight games without pay by the NBA for ‘detrimental conduct’ the league announced Wednesday. The enigmatic 23-year-old superstar has already been credited with the six games he has already missed, so he will return with enough time to help Memphis make a late season push for playoff positioning.
So all in all, he escaped the “gauntlet.” The fact that no charges were filed makes some question if the suspension is too harsh, but the NBA has sent a clear message that they don’t like when players make the brand look bad.
Morant’s name has been a constant name in NBA headlines over the past several weeks and he has received criticism for it from former and present NBA players. Now Patrick Beverley has decided to give his input on the Morant’s recent behavior. He blames the rap music that younger players like Morant listen to.
The younger generation are heavily influenced by rap artists such as NBA Youngboy, Lil Baby, Lil Durk, Kodak Black, Lil Uzi Vert, etc. Last year, NBA Youngboy was the most streamed American artist on Youtube. His channel surpassed over 2 billion views.
Pat Bev’s Comments
Beverley appeared on Barstool Sports “Rundown” podcast earlier this week and offered some insight on Morant’s behavior.
Beverley comments:
“I think music has a lot to do with this now. You know, especially with this culture. Everyone holding a gun in the video is okay. You know, bling on your teeth is okay. Pants half down your a**, that’s okay. So, that’s like okay now. Back in the day there was a motherf***** on the beach in a silk shirt talking about some ‘Yeah, baby, let’s party like we’re in the 80s.’ Everybody had on silk shirts and everybody was dressed the same. It’s just a product of what we listen to. The culture now is ‘shoot them up, bang, bang, shoot them up, bend you over, I got this amount of money, I’m on private jets, that that that.’ That’s what the younger generation is. Sadly to say it shouldn’t be based on our music, but it is mostly based on what we listen to and that’s how it is.”
Beverley also placed some of the blame on Tee Morant, Ja’s father. Rap artist Cam’ron recently echoed those comments as well.
“You gotta start being more of a father figure…the sunglasses, the wilding out trying to fight Shannon Sharpe, having look alike contests with Usher. I understand you’re the new age dad, but this is a little too cool… we have to set a better example,” said Cam’ron on his “What It Is” podcast.
The Music
In Morant’s latest strip club incident, NBA Youngboy played in the background as he waved the gun on his Instagram live.
Morant also had NBA Youngboy music playing on his Instagram Live as he headed to the 2022 NBA All-Star Game.
It is nothing wrong with having a favorite artist, but NBA Youngboy music seems to glorify violence, being apart of gang, and criminal activity. His music has one of the biggest influences on our youth and they have started to act out some of things he talks about in his music.
Morant recently completed a short stay at a treatment facility in Florida to help him deal with personal issues. Morant will be eligible to return to the team on March 20. He also did an interview with Jalen Rose that is yet to be release, detailing his journey and explaining some of his indiscretions.
