Nike, after Ja Morant was allegedly seen flashing a gun in a video, stood by the Memphis Grizzlies star. The American multinational corporation said that they ‘support’ the 23-year-old after he was suspended for two games.
Morant, in an Instagram live video, was seen with a gun at a Colorado club, the team announced on Saturday. The clip went viral on social media. The Grizzlies guard reportedly had the gun on the team plane when they were travelling to play the Denver Nuggets. Authorities are investigating his actions.
Ja Morant, who is a two-time NBA All-Star, released a statement saying that he takes full responsibility for his actions.
“I’m sorry to my family, teammates, coaches, fans, partners, the city of Memphis and the entire organization for letting you down,” he said. “I’m going to take some time away to get help and work on learning better methods of dealing with stress and my overall well-being,” Morant’s statement read.
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“We appreciate Ja’s accountability and that he is taking the time to get the help he needs. We support his prioritization of his well-being,” Nike said, as per The Athletic.
Social media users trolled Nike.
“#JaMorant should be getting the @KyrieIrving and #ye treatment. But @Nike won’t! Make it make sense!” a Twitter user said.
“No hate on ja morant but the way @Nike took @KyrieIrving deal w it’s a quickness over a social media post was crazy,” another one added.
“@Nike drops @KyrieIrving and backs #JaMorant. Make it make sense! Please,” a third one tweeted.
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Kyrie Irving’s Nike contract was suspended after the guard shared an antisemitic film on social media and refused to disavow antisemitism.
“At Nike, we believe there is no place for hate speech and we condemn any form of antisemitism,” Nike said then. “We are deeply saddened and disappointed by the situation and its impact on everyone.”
In December, Morant got his signature shoe created by Nike, the Ja 1, which was released in February 2023.
