Ja Morant’s attorneys reportedly filed a motion to dismiss a civil case between the NBA star and a teenager he got into a physical altercation with last year.
The Memphis Grizzlies guard has consistently said he acted in self-defense, which the motion cites.
Attorneys argue that Morant should be awarded “civil immunity under the [Self-Defense Immunity] Statute” in the state of Tennessee, according to the Commercial Appeal.
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Ja Morant, #12 of the Memphis Grizzlies, brings the ball up court during the game against the New Orleans Pelicans at FedExForum on December 31, 2022, in Memphis, Tennessee. (Justin Ford/Getty Images)
Morant says the teenager struck him in the face with a basketball on purpose while playing a pickup game at Morant’s home. Following the altercation, Morant and other witnesses, including Morant’s father Tee, say the teenager then threatened to shoot at the household.
Morant’s initial police report said the boy made threats against his family. It’s reported that Morant then showed a gun himself in response.
Morant’s attorneys say his lone punch to the teenager was “only to the extent necessary to protect himself from further harm” and “not hard enough even to knock him down.”
Ja Morant, #12 of the Memphis Grizzlies, reacts during the second quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on February 23, 2023, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
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The motion seeks a hearing within 40 days of filing and that anything involving the civil case will be paused. Attorneys also requested “the mandatory damages that the [Self-Defense Immunity] Statute affords [Morant]: an award of attorney fees, costs, lost income and expenses.”
The altercation was one of several incidents involving Morant since last summer. Four days earlier, Morant had allegedly “threatened” the head of security at a Memphis mall, and a member of Morant’s group shoved him in the head.
During this past season, the Indiana Pacers claimed that after an altercation between associates of Morant and the Pacers, a red laser was pointed at the team from an SUV that was carrying Morant, which the Pacers believed was a gun. The NBA investigated the incident and found that no “individual threatened others with a weapon.”
Ja Morant, #12 of the Memphis Grizzlies, reacts during Round 1 Game 1 of the NBA Playoffs against the Los Angeles Lakers on April 16, 2023, at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. (Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
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Morant has been suspended for the first 25 games of the NBA season for a second incident in which he appeared to show a gun on an Instagram Live video. He was suspended for eight games when he did it the first time in a Denver nightclub in March.
