Ja Morant allegedly flashed gun at teenager during pick-up game argument

A lawsuit has been filed against NBA star Ja Morant following fresh firearm and assault allegations.

The Memphis Grizzlies guard is accused of punching a 17-year-old boy repeatedly before flashing a gun at him during a pickup basketball game last year.

Back in January, news broke that Morant had struck a teenager 12 to 13 times during a street altercation, which resulted in a lawsuit being filed.

But according to police report documents obtained by the Washington Post, not only did Morant assault the young kid, but the 23-year-old also went inside his house and returned with a gun in his waistband.

The boy told detectives Morant reemerged with his hand on the firearm, before Morant's father quickly intervened and tried to defuse the situation.

When Morant was questioned about the incident at the scene, police notified him of the boy's claims about the weapon.

However, it's understood law enforcement did not explicitly ask the NBA star if he had a gun on his possession, although Morant did not deny the claim altogether.

In terms of the assault allegations, Morant didn't deny hitting the teenager either, insisting he did so in self-defence.

The two-time NBA All-Star told police that the teen was - in fact - the aggressor, throwing a ball at his head before stepping towards his direction.

“I swung first,” the NBA star told detective.

He added: “The ball was to me the first hit.”

At the time of the incident, no arrests were made.

Shelby County prosectors reviewed the case but declined to file charges due to a lack of evidence, a spokesperson told the Washington Post.

Jim Tanner, who is Morant's agent, said the allegations were “unsubstantiated rumours and gossip” which were “being put out by people motivated to tear Ja down and tarnish his reputation for their own financial gain.”

“Any and every allegation involving a firearm has been fully investigated and could not be corroborated,” Tanner added.

“Again, after this was fully investigated by law enforcement, they came to the decision not to charge Ja with any crime.”

Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: Basketball, NBA

Max Sherry

Max Sherry is a journalist for SPORTbible Australia. After migrating Down Under from London as a teenager, he instantly fell in love with Aussie sport and its culture. From NRL to AFL, cricket to rugby — you name it, Max watches it (with a beer in hand, of course). During his time at Fox Sports, he worked in the football department covering the Premier League, A-League, Socceroos and Matildas. Born a stone's throw away from West Ham's training ground, Max is obviously a die-hard Liverpool fan.

@maxysherry