There comes a time in a person’s life when they need a reality check. Sometimes when you’re worth $200 million-plus you can avoid that reality check, but for Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant, he still got it, and it came from some unlikely sources.
After a week of getting into fights with other players and incidents with fans, including one with Shannon Sharpe, Ja Morant apparently had “a postgame situation,” according to the Athletic. Which also initially was said to have featured an incident where a car Morant was riding in started pointing laser beams at the opposing team’s staff. A security guard identified it as a gun, and social media ran wild.
Shannon Sharpe Scolds Ja Morant
These recent turn of events and Memphis’ recent fall from grace led to Ja Morant getting a “talking to” from everyone’s favorite Uncle, Uncle Shay, aka Shannon Sharpe, and the talking head didn’t hold back.
Sharpe used his show “Undisputed” with co-host Skip Bayless to address the recent events and turmoil that Morant has been engulfed in.
Sharpe started the segment by saying, “Ja is a really good basketball player. … Ja did everything he could to lift himself and his family out of this type of environment and to get away from this and, for some reason, he wants to surround himself with these types of people. Why? Bruh, you’re not hard. That’s not your life. People in that life would give anything to be in your life,” Sharpe finished.
Basically, Sharpe told Ja and the Memphis Grizzlies to stop faking out here and get focused on the task at hand, which is winning basketball games.
Morant Denies Reports On Social Media
Morant took to social media to debunk those claims, as he doubled down on his critics saying they are trying to create a false narrative about him.
“did a investigation seen they were cappin,” Morant said at the time. “[S]till let a article come out to paint this negative image on me & my fam & banned my brother from home games or a year. unbelievable,” Morant tweeted.
did a investigation seen they were cappin . still let a article come out to paint this negative image on me & my fam . & banned my brother from home games for a year . unbelievable 😂 https://t.co/08p4E8xhJJ
— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) February 5, 2023
Regardless of what really went down, Sharpe was still holding Morant accountable, and apparently so are some other athletes.
Sauce Gardner Tells Ja Morant To Get A Grip
New York Jets star cornerback Sauce Gardner — fresh off winning Defensive Rookie of the Year at NFL Honors 2023 — sent out a tweet that featured some words of wisdom which everyone understood were directed at Ja Morant.
“Pro Athletes, if you really from the trenches, you ain’t gotta prove it every time you know eyes on you. A lot of y’all ain’t even like that for real and THATS FINE! All your life, you grind to go pro, make it pro & start making millions, and then turn gangsta? That’s backwards,” Gardner tweeted.
Pro Athletes, if you really from the trenches, you ain’t gotta prove it everytime you know eyes on you. Alot of y’all ain’t even like that forreal and THATS FINE!💯All your life, you grind to go pro, make it pro & start making millions, and then turn gangsta? That’s backwards❕
— D’ROY GARDNER (@iamSauceGardner) February 6, 2023
Sauce Gardner and Shannon Sharpe are not wrong either. Ja Morant is achieving a dream that he’s worked his entire life for. Besides, he doesn’t come from the worse conditions. He had a present father who bent over backward to support his dream and those of other kids in the community. The streets were never an option for Ja Morant, so to bring that element into an NBA setting or present yourself as some kind of gangster is regressive behavior.
Gardner felt the need to point that out.
Gardner definitely seems to know what he’s talking about, and he’s only been in the NFL for a year. He said what needed to be said and is showing concern for a fellow athlete who has the world at his fingertips and thousands of impressionable kids watching him. Morant can move mountains with positive actions. No need to act like a reality TV star with the platform and potential he has.
Sauce Gardner Is Making History | Defensive Back Is First Rookie First-Team All-Pro DB In 41 Years
Maybe the four-year NBA superstar should take some advice from the sagacious NFL rookie.
