Ja Morant made an appearance at Rod Wave’s recent concert amid his 25-game suspension just as a separate scandal involving another NBA player erupts.
On Monday (November 27) video footage of Morant seemingly enjoying himself at the Soulfly rapper’s concert went viral on several social media outlets. Morant appears to be singing along word for word with Rod Wave in the short clip captured by a fan attending the show.
However, just as the NBA enters the sixth week of competition, yet another player has been allegedly involved in an incident of misconduct. Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey, who’s 21 years old, is currently being investigated by the NBA following allegations of his intimate relationship with an underage girl. As early as November 24, video and images of Giddey and the girl who was allegedly a junior in high school at the time of the purported sexual encounter, began circulating on social media.
Giddey has yet to miss a game this season and head coach Mark Daigneault told media previously he intends to keep the Australian native in the lineup for now. Morant was suspended for 25 games last year in connection to a gun-flashing incident on social media. In comparison to suspensions former NBA players have received, Morant’s suspension is tied for the longest in the history of the league. Additionally, Morant was immediately suspended from all team activities following his initial incident of misconduct—even though he hadn’t broken any laws.
Since the allegations against Giddey surfaced, the NBA and media professionals have been criticized for the lack of coverage of the incident. Generally, the outcry is based in how commentators such as Malika Andrews and many other journalists have covered Giddey’s allegations in contrast to recent scandals involving other players. Andrews previously brought up a capital murder case former Alabama player Brandon Miller was a witness in while covering the NBA Draft the night Miller was picked by the Charlotte Hornets.
Smith notably covered the infidelity scandal between former Celtics head coach Ime Udoka and a team official (Udoka was ultimately fired and suspended). On November 28, Smith addressed the public outcry regarding the media coverage of the allegations against Giddey, remarking on the fact that restraint is needed in this situation due to possible legal repercussions.
The Grizzlies have played 16 games thus far, with Morant being eligible to return to the team as early as December 19 when the Grizzlies face the New Orleans Pelicans. The suspension has been rather costly for Morant, who failed to make an All-NBA team last year and lost a $39 million contract bonus as a result—along with the $7.6 million in earnings he’s lost while serving his suspension this year. In contrast, Giddey is facing the possibility of losing an endorsement deal with an Australian cereal brand worth $40 million in total.
Watch Smith’s response to the matter below.
