Ja Morant is undergoing a trial for allegedly punching high school basketball star Joshua Holloway in the head during a pickup game at Morant’s house in the summer of 2022. The court testimony got a little odd for normal basketball fans, as the lawyers made Morant explain the difference between a check-ball and passing the ball, along with other odd moments.
They got Ja Morant in court describing how to pass a basketball, I can’t believe I’m witnessing this pic.twitter.com/ocs1XBm2FB
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) December 11, 2023
The clip was a larger part of the court testimony, where one of the lawyers even used clips of Morant trying to dunk on players like Kevin Love to give proof of how strong the Grizzlies’ point guard is. The court’s account for Monday is closed, but this case is likely going to drag on for the rest of the week, if not longer.
Rebecca Adelman, the attorney representing the plaintiff, has brought a basketball into the courtroom and is using a photo of Ja Morant jumping over Kevin Love as a visual aid
Adelman is showing clips of Ja dunking to demonstrate the kind of force directed at Mr. Holloway,… pic.twitter.com/SOxA1NprHI
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) December 11, 2023
Morant has served 22 games of the 25-game suspension he received from the NBA for brandishing a gun on an IG Live. The league never directly reprimanded Morant for this incident with Holloway, so it’ll be interesting to see if a guilty verdict leads to additional NBA-related consequences for Morant.
What Happened In Court?
Ja Morant has officially claimed that he was using self-defense when he allegedly struck Holloway, who is 19 years old now. Morant’s argument does bring in basketball etiquette as one of the reasons why the situation escalated.
Holloway allegedly rolled the ball to Morant’s feet during a check-ball situation, something the former NBA All-Star considered disrespectful. The supposed disrespect, Holloway allegedly throwing an aggressive pass at Morant’s face, not apologizing, and then pulling up his shorts and holding his fists up in an aggressive manner is what led to Morant’s violence.
“That’s disrespectful. Setting the ball at your feet in a check ball situation is disrespectful… Him pulling up his shorts, where I’m from, that’s a fighting stance, so I hit him first, to protect myself.”
Ja’s lawyers also believe that ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws in Tennessee will aid Morant’s defense case, as the player’s defense explains in as many ways as possible how Morant felt physically threatened in the presence of the then 17-year-old Holloway. More testimonies are likely to follow as this case continues, but the Grizzlies will be hoping that they can put this behind them by the end of the week.
Morant is three games away from returning to the NBA court, with an expected debut coming next Tuesday. His Grizzlies were not only beaten by a Dallas Mavericks squad missing four of their six best players but also punked by their star player Luka Doncic on the court. Their record is 6-16 this season, giving Morant quite a task to lead the team back into playoff contention.
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