Longtime Washington Post sports columnist and ESPN show host Michael Wilbon stated that he told his son that he will not buy him Ja Morant’s signature Nike shoes.
The emphatic declaration came during Wilbon’s interview on “The Rich Eisen Show” after Morant was “suspended from all team activities” — again — by the Memphis Grizzlies for flashing a gun in public and on social media. It is the second such transgression within the past two months.
Wilbon was livid that it happened again and so soon after the first time.
“There are people who could be around him who are going to have to help lead him out of this. We hear about four or five days or eight days or whatever at some facility in Florida, that’s a joke. That’s PR,” Wilbon said of Morant going to rehab to address stress management following his suspension in March.
“And so you could try to PR your way out of this through other social media forms and all of that. But the question is, is he going to do the work that is required of himself to get out of this and for this not to be the end?”
Wilbon continued, saying: “Because what’s going to happen now? Is Nike going to pull that shoe? Is Powerade going to pull that drink? I know in my house, I told Matthew, ‘You can’t have the shoe. I’m not buying that shoe. You’re not buying that shoe. Our money as a family is not going toward that.’ And … I’m not the only one who’s going to feel that way.”
This comes two months after the 23-year-old star was hit with an eight-game suspension when Morant brandished a firearm at a strip club in Denver. Morant forfeited $669,000 in salary as a result and lost millions in endorsement money.
“He’s so smart, we talk about intelligence, you listen to Ja Morant post-game, I mean, the engagement level and the intellect are unmistakable,” Wilbon added. “But yet, this whole fake gangster theme that I thought we were passed as a culture some years ago – I guess he’s not past it, he and his. And it’s just, it’s sad. It’s sad.”
Back in March, Wilbon said that Morant will be judged on his behavior moving forward from that previous suspension.
Now that it’s happened again, Morant is set to be judged by the NBA, and it may be harsh. ESPN reported that Morant could be subjected to a half-season-long suspension or even more in order for the NBA to send a message to the rest of the league.
