unscripted: Ja Morant. Who's REALLY to Blame for His Continued Transgressions?
Unscripted
(Commentary) By Keith Edmonds Ink Spot Contributing Writer
NBA star Ja Morant is back in the news again after reports of him brandishing a firearm in public for now a second time in the past 2 months. What I find remarkably interesting about this report is how the “court of public opinion” has labeled Morant as bad for the NBA’s image and how he needs to be “taught a stronger lesson” this time around after being suspended for eight games for his first incident by league commissioner Adam Silver. My question is: Who is going to teach US a lesson on how to help these kids?
Morant has been christened as the new “Face of the NBA” which carries a huge responsibility which may or may not be fair to someone that’s only 23 years old. We, as the adoring public, place this moniker on professional athletes simply because we feel that as our established stars (i.e.: LeBron James, Steph Curry, Chris Paul) begin to age, we start our search to pass the mantle of “league ambassador” to our younger players who have all of the physical gifts to play this game, but may not be ready emotionally for what is being thrown at them which is a tremendous responsibility, and if I can be honest with you, not something these kids have asked for. So, what happens to players when the pressure of being a 20, 21, 22-year-old millionaire runs smack dab into trying to figure out what lifestyle they should lead is acceptable for us? Chaos!
Today’s players have a tough time adjusting to how WE as major stakeholders in our support of the NBA feel they should present themselves and struggle to find an acceptable median. Many times, they fall under the weight of expectations and exhibit conduct that brings out the scrutiny of us who pay huge ticket prices to see them perform on a nightly basis. It has gotten to the point that we as fans have become great judges for the players’ behaviors but want great attorneys for our own inappropriate behaviors.
Certainly, we have had numerous examples of professional athletes making poor choices, and exhibiting questionable behaviors in the past which makes the Ja Morant situation not too uncommon for those of us that follow sports. The concerning part of this incident involving Morant is that it comes on the heels of his aforementioned gun charge and his apologies for that transgression. At this point, Morant does not seem to have a clue as to how his decisions impact the Memphis Grizzlies franchise, his fan base, and the NBA overall and my question is… how many of us had our life figured out at age 23? And add forty million dollars a year to that decision-making.
Morant has apologized for each incident and vowed to be better but at what point does the NBA begin to limit his opportunities to shame them again? He’s lost huge endorsement deals with NIKE and Powerade (still deciding) and with his omission from the 1st Team All-NBA list lost a reported 36-million-dollar boost in his contract!
Now with all this being said, several high-profile former NBA players have weighed in with their thoughts with Hall of Famer Charles Barkley stated “The rules are different for public figures” which I agree with whole-heartedly. The problem is who’s volunteering to assist these talented young players navigate the waters of being a franchise player and still trying to maintain a somewhat “normal” life? Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas (who himself was suspended by the NBA for a record 50 games for carrying a gun into his team’s facility) was quoted as saying “the difference between my situation and Ja Morant is that I’m getting into trouble in the WORKPLACE and not in my everyday life which is what Morant is doing.” Ja Morant is falling under the lens of societies ability to scrutinize with the eyes of social media always ever present. So again, I ask; How would we conduct ourselves daily if we knew that the eyes of our entire organizational workplace were on us? Yes, we all go to work everyday and try to do our best to co-exist with those that we work with but are we working with the same pressures that these young men encounter daily? I’ll answer that for you, NO!
In my humble opinion, Ja Morant needs to reach out and get some assistance from those that are in his situation that have managed to chart their courses and kept the waters steady as they balance their personal/professional lives daily. Listen, Ja Morant is a high-profile athlete has challenges that we can only imagine living outside of the sports world and has a right to protect himself in a manner deemed appropriate for him but in this instance was he protecting himself, or the image he wants to portray? If I were in the NBA league office, I would set up counseling and mental health services for players who become instant millionaires and train them on the dos and don’ts of being a professional athlete (which I’m sure they do) but who should be the spokesmen for these services athletes that have FALLEN from those pressures. Let them share their stories and how they managed to bounce back or continue to revive their lives after their fall from grace. Now that would be huge!