Why is Ja Morant in court? Grizzlies star testifies at hearing for lawsuit stemming from pickup game punch

According to reports, Ja Morant will appear in court in Tennessee next week after receiving a subpoena related to a brawl he had with a youngster at his own residence the previous year.

Following some rough passes to check the ball in, Morant and the teenager got into a fight during a pickup basketball game at Morant’s house. The young man’s comeback pass escaped his grasp and struck Morant across the face.

Ja Morant catches a ball

Morant claimed that the teenager declared he was “going to come back and light this place up like fireworks” following the altercation. Following the boy’s remark, Morant reported the incident to the police, citing threats made against his family. The teenager claimed that’s when Morant returned outside with a gun, but Morant disputes that.

Although the child had turned into the aggressor by hurling a basketball at Morant’s head and pulling up his pants as a show of “wanting to fight,” Morant acknowledged that he “swung first” and claimed he was acting in self-defense, according to the Washington Post.

Morant was suspended for eight games after filming himself in a nightclub shortly after the accusations, during which he was seen brandishing a gun. (In the end, he was unable to attend nine since he enrolled in a counseling program.)

He is presently serving a 25-game suspension, though, following a similar incident. He’s allowed to go back on December 19.

Ja Morant runs down the court

The NBA player, who addressed his friend Davonte Pack as his “brother,” was arrested in July on charges of assault with bodily harm after Pack punched the then-17-year-old.

Ja Morant points

According to ESPN, subpoenas were sent to Morant, Pack, and Morant’s parents. On December 11, the hearing is set to take place.