Lawyers for Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant contended he acted in self-defense when he struck a teenager during a pickup game at his home in July 2022, according to Lucas Finton of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
Morant’s lawyers are attempting to cite Tennessee’s self-defense law as their basis for getting a civil suit filed by the teenager, Joshua Holloway, dismissed.
According to the Associated Press’ Adrian Sainz, his lawyers “acknowledged he punched Holloway one time after Holloway threw a basketball at Morant and the ball hit Morant in the chin.”
Circuit Court Judge Carol Chumney ruled the civil litigation will remain on hold while Morant’s representatives argue the constitutionality of their claim.
Holloway’s mother filed a civil suit on his behalf in September. The 17-year-old detailed his allegations against Morant and Morant’s friend, Davonte Pack, in an interview with the Washington Post‘s Gus Garcia-Roberts and Molly Hensley-Clancy.
Holloway said Morant became angered when he checked the ball too hard to the star guard during a pickup game. He alleged Morant punched him in the face before he was hit in the back of his head by another man.
Per Hensley-Clancy, officers from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office made a note of a “large knot” on Holloway’s head, and he had told police Morant “hit me like 12 to 13 times.”
Morant filed a countersuit against Holloway in April. He alleged Holloway had lied to police about what happened and that the teen had approached him in a threatening manner before their physical altercation.
Morant accused Holloway of slander, battery and assault in the suit.
His lawyers also referenced the potential for the 23-year-old to miss out on the All-NBA team, which would mean losing $39 million in additional earnings from the contract he had signed with the Grizzlies.
Morant was suspended for eight games during the 2022-23 NBA season after sharing a video on social media in which he was holding a firearm at a Denver-area nightclub.
The two-time All-Star will miss the first 25 games of the upcoming year after a similar incident unfolded in May. An NBA investigation determined he “intentionally and prominently displayed a gun while in a car with several other individuals as they were leaving a social gathering in Memphis.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the situation was “alarming and disconcerting given his similar conduct in March for which he was already suspended eight games.”
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