In a tweet posted Sunday, Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant revealed that a friend of his has been banned from playing in games at FedExForum for the next year because of an altercation that had taken place a week earlier between his supporters and members of the Indiana Pacers organization.
During its investigation into the incident, which occurred after the Grizzlies beat the Pacers in the first round of the playoffs on Jan. 29th, the NBA revealed that unnamed individuals were banned from the arena, even though no evidence indicated that anyone was threatened with a weapon.
USA Today and The Indianapolis Star report that multiple Pacers players saw a red dot pointed in their direction, while The Athletic reports that a security guard of the Pacers thought the laser was attached to a gun, citing unnamed sources.
In response to allegations made by the Indiana Pacers organization regarding a postgame incident on Jan. 29, NBA Security and league investigators conducted an investigation, interviewing numerous eyewitnesses and reviewing video surveillance footage. In spite of the fact that we were able to verify that a confrontational postgame situation had arisen based on the interviews and other evidence we gathered, we were unable to confirm that no individual threatened anyone with a weapon,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in an emailed statement.
Grizzlies forward Ja Morant did not play in the team’s 106-103 loss to Toronto on Sunday as he was carrying right wrist soreness. He was not available for comment following the game. In a tweet he sent out before the game, Morant stated that reports about the incident had painted a negative picture of him and his family. He also announced he had banned his younger brother from home games for a year. That is unbelievable.”
The Pacers bench players shouted in Pack’s direction as Pack followed the Pacers players to the exit of the arena when he tried to get to the bench during the Jan. 29 game. When Pack refused to leave, Pacers players escorted his remove from the arena. The discussion is rumored to have continued after the game in the parking area for the players. According to Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins, the team has addressed the issue internally.
