Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant shared a series of cryptic messages with his family on social media 11 days after his latest gun controversy.
The now-deleted messages were shared with his 9.6million followers on Instagram and were aimed at his sister, mum, dad and daughter, before saying “bye” in a recent post.
The posts come 11 days after the 23-year-old was caught brandishing a gun live on Instagram for the second time.
The first post on his Instagram Story Wednesday morning was addressed to his sister Teniya, who also plays basketball and has recently become involved with Mississippi Valley State.
Morant shared a photo of 18-year-old Teniya from the announcement of her engagement with the Delettes and captioned it, “Congratulations little girl.” “Live yours” with a blue heart emoji.
Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant shared a series of cryptic messages with his family on social media 11 days after his latest gun controversy
Morant was filmed waving a gun (left), two months after filming himself doing the same at a Denver strip club (right).
He next sent his mother a message telling her he loved her and a photo of her watching him walk from the stands to the pitch.
He had a similar message for his “Pops,” adding a photo of the couple hugging in the next post.
“You are the most amazing baby I love you,” read the next message Morant spoke to his daughter Kaari Jaidyn Morant.
The last photo showed him himself during the interview, on which he wrote the word “Bye”.
All messages have since been deleted.
The 23-year-old was suspended by the Grizzlies “from all team activities” earlier this month after he was spotted on Instagram brandishing a gun for the second time in two months.
Morant was spotted in the driver’s seat of a car wielding a gun on Instagram Live on Sunday.
The clip came just two months after he was spotted with a gun in an Instagram video at a Denver strip club, sparking an investigation by police and the league.
The first post was addressed to his sister Teniya (left) as he also shared one for his daughter (right).
In two separate messages, he shared with his mother and father that he loved them
In the latest clip, Morant was seen on Instagram Live in the driver’s seat of a car, pistol in hand while singing along to rapper YoungBoy NBA’s song “1.5.”
After revealing the firearm, the person who took the video immediately turned the camera away from Morant to watch the rest of the clip that emerged.
Morant admitted he had disappointed many people including his team-mates, fans and the league with the latest incident and insisted he still had work to do. However, he did not apologize.
The point guard’s statement shared by Adrian WojnarowskiIt said, “I know I’ve disappointed a lot of people who supported me.” This is a journey and I know there’s still a lot to do. My words may not mean much right now, but I take full responsibility for my actions. I am determined to keep working on myself.’
In a statement to , the league said: “We are aware of the social media post featuring Ja Morant and are in the process of gathering more information.”
Morant’s March incident saw him dancing topless at a strip club before raising a gun to the side of his head.
Hours after the incident, it was reported that he was being investigated by the NBA and that Morant had been suspended by the Grizzlies for “at least two games” while the investigation continued.
Morant then issued a statement accepting responsibility for his actions and stating that he would be taking time off from the game to work on his well-being.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver admitted he was “shocked” by the latest incident
An investigation by the Glendale, Colorado Police Department found no criminal charges and found no wrongdoing.
However, while Morant was making time for his well-being, which included a brief stay at a treatment center in Florida, he met with Silver, where he was told he would be suspended for eight games – including the time he had already served had.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced last week that he also discussed the seriousness of Morant’s actions with him and got the impression the point guard understood the seriousness.
However, following the latest incident, it appeared Morant had not learned his lesson from meeting the commissioner and Silver admitted he was “shocked” when the clip surfaced on Sunday.
“Honestly, I was shocked when I saw this video this weekend,” he told ESPN ahead of Tuesday night’s NBA Draft Lottery.
“Now we’re investigating.” We’re trying to figure out exactly what happened as best we can. Again, the video is grainy and whatnot, but I’m assuming the worst.”
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