Ja Morant’s friend faces arrest warrant in Tennessee over the pair’s alleged altercation with teen

Ja Morant’s chaotic off-season continued on Tuesday with news that an arrest warrant has been issued for his close friend over a 2022 altercation the pair had with a teenage basketball player at the Memphis Grizzlies star’s home.

Davonte Pack, whom Morant has referred to as “my brother,” has been charged with simple assault stemming from the July 2022 altercation in which a teenager says the All-Star guard and Pack hit him, the district attorney’s office said of Shelby County in a position.

Online records show that the warrant for Pack, 24, was issued Monday, the same day Morant’s lawyers argued in civil court that the teen’s lawsuit against Morant should be dismissed because he acted in self-defense after the teen threw a basketball at Morant had thrown and it hit. Morant in the chin.

Morant’s accuser was 17 when the lawsuit was filed. It charges Morant and Pack with assault, reckless endangerment, abuse or neglect, and inflicting emotional distress. An amended complaint identified the plaintiff as Joshua Holloway, who is now 18.

In April, Morant filed a countersuit accusing Holloway of defamation, battery and assault.

The incident reportedly happened during a fetch game at Morant’s mansion outside of Memphis

Holloway, who has committed to playing college basketball at Samford, discussed the countersuits with Memphis’ WREG in April.

“When things come out, I really try to ignore it because I know everyone has their opinion, so I just try to keep to myself,” Holloway said.

“I am not intimidated by anything. I trust in God, God is behind me. I don’t have to worry about anything. I’m going to reach my goal anyway.’

No criminal charges have been filed against Morant. Lawyers defending Morant and Pack in the lawsuit did not immediately respond to calls and emails asking for comment on the injunction.

The NBA suspended Morant for 25 games when the upcoming season begins after a second video was posted online of him flashing a gun. The video of Morant showing a gun while in the passenger seat of a car was posted after he served an eight-game suspension in March for a video of him flashing a gun at a strip club near Denver.

Morant apologized for both incidents.

Yes Morant was suspended for 25 games for his second pistol-wielding social media video

Morant’s actions were also investigated following a January 29 incident in Memphis that he said led to Pack being banned from playing home games for a year.

That incident followed a game against the Indiana Pacers. The Indianapolis Star and USA Today, citing unnamed sources, reported that several members of the Pacers saw a red dot pointing at them, and The Athletic reported that a Pacers guard thought the laser was attached to a gun.

The NBA confirmed that unnamed individuals were banned from the arena, but said the investigation found no evidence that anyone was threatened with a weapon.

Morant responded to that incident by tweeting that the reports “this negative image on me & my fam & banned my brother from home games for a year. unbelievable.’ During the January 29 game, there was barking between Pacers players and friends of Morant sitting on the sidelines. Pack was escorted out of the arena as Pacers bench players yelled at Pack.

Last month, Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman said the NBA’s 25-game suspension that slashed Morant was “appropriate,” and that it’s up to Morant to change the behavior that led to two suspensions in four months.

The Grizzlies’ vice president of basketball operations made the remarks after Thursday night’s NBA draft.

Kleiman said the latest incident is part of a pattern of “problematic behavior” for Morant, the No. 2 overall pick in 2019 and the 2020 Rookie of the Year.

“Right now it doesn’t matter until he perseveres,” Kleiman said. ‘I don’t care about words. Yes must prove it.’

Earlier this year, Morant held up a gun on Instagram while visiting a strip club in Denver

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced the final suspension on June 16, and Silver made it clear that the guard should stop his “alarming” habit of flashing guns on social media.

The Grizzlies suspended Morant from team activities indefinitely after the second video surfaced. The team had only issued a statement that it supported the NBA’s penalty for this “last episode.”

Morant will earn approximately $33.5 million this season. He is now on the verge of losing just over $300,000 per game – or about $7.5 million. He will also have to meet certain conditions before being reinstated, the NBA said.

Silver said the two-time All-Star’s decision-making is “troubling.”