Ja Morant countersues the teenager he punched during pickup game altercation

Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant has filed a countersuit against a teen alleging the point guard assaulted him during a pick-up basketball game.

The incident reportedly took place at Morant’s home when Josh Holloway, a high school basketball player, said that Morant attacked him after checking the ball to the NBA player and hit him in the face after being passed through his hands. slipped.

Holloway’s mother sued Morant on her son’s behalf, saying that Morant and his friends repeatedly hit him in the head and face – even while he was lying on the floor. The case was eventually sealed by the court.

According to Morant’s countersuitclaims he acted in self-defense, alleging that Holloway “deliberately threw a basketball at his face, which could have ended Morant’s career,” and then “aggressively walked toward Morant with clenched fists, as if he were around Morant ‘. to hit him.

Morant’s suit also alleges that the teen “threatened to return to Morant’s house and light it ‘like a firecracker’ when he left.”

It also alleges that Holloway “threatened Morant again in a Snapchat message” and later “lied to police about Morant flashing a gun.”

Holloway also allegedly “breached a court order by leaking details of a sealed case to the media.” That leak allegedly “cost Morant money by hurting his chances of making an All-NBA team this season.”

The suit also says that Holloway caused Morant to be “subjected to chastisement and ridicule” and subjected him to “personal humiliation” as well as “tarnishing of the character and reputation he has built over many years in the Memphis community”, while allowing he is “more cautious” in his dealings with the media.’

Holloway, 18, who was 17 years old at the time of the incident, told the Washington Post that Morant and his friend Davonte Pack (who was also named in the first lawsuit), “have taken no responsibility for their actions. I don’t think you should let a kid jump a basketball game no matter what the situation might be.’

Holloway’s mother also pushed for Morant to face criminal charges, but the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office did not prosecute due to lack of evidence.

This isn’t Morant’s first run-in with the law in Tennessee. Last summer, before this incident, the Grizzlies star reportedly threatened the head of security at a Memphis mall.

Morant’s mother reportedly got into an argument with an employee of a shoe store at the mall and called her son, who arrived shortly afterwards with a group of “as many as nine people.”

According to the police report, Morant and his friends refused to leave the parking lot when confronted by the mall’s director of security.

Police arrived and a “verbal confrontation” reportedly escalated before someone in Morant’s entourage shoved the security chief at the head.

“As the group left the premises… Ja Morant said, ‘Let me see what time he gets out,’ the police wrote in the report.

The head of security reportedly wanted to press charges “because he felt threatened by Ja Morant’s statement,” police wrote.

Neither incident was made public at the time, and Morant started the NBA season strong with the Grizzlies.

Morant’s agent, Jim Tanner, characterized the allegations as “baseless rumors and gossip are spread by people motivated to take down Ja and tarnish his reputation for their own financial gain.”

Morant ended the regular season with the Grizzlies after multiple incidents surrounding NBA games.

First, in mid-January, there was an on-field confrontation between Morant and Fox Sports analyst Shannon Sharpe. Sharpe yelled at Morant and his Grizzlies teammates Dillon Brooks and Steven Adams leading to a scuffle but no punches were thrown.

Later that month, Morant and Pack allegedly aimed a laser at the bus of the Indiana Pacers – who were visiting Memphis.

According to The Athletic, Morant was riding in an SUV with Pack and another person when a red laser was pointed at the Pacers bus.

Two people who spoke anonymously to the publication said they believed the laser was attached to a gun, while an Indiana guard nearby claimed “that’s 100 percent a gun.” However, it was not confirmed whether the laser was attached to a weapon.

The league opened an investigation into the allegation, but concluded that it “did not confirm that someone threatened others with a weapon,” an NBA spokesman said.

Most recently, there was the incident at a Colorado nightclub where Morant allegedly flashed a gun in an Instagram Live video.

While the NBA found that Morant did not bring a gun into the arena or the plane, but still suspended him for eight games. Morant was also not charged with any crime by Colorado police.

Morant entered a counseling program in Florida on his own initiative after being suspended by the team.

He has since returned to the team and is preparing to play in the NBA postseason.