Jalen Rose And Shannon Sharpe Offer Poignant Messages For Ja Morant After Suspension

At just 23 years old and already a two-time NBA All-Star, Memphis Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant likely has an incredible NBA career ahead of him.

But right now it appears that Morant has hit a bit of a roadblock.

The former No. 2 overall pick in the NBA Draft is currently suspended from the Grizzlies after a series of off-court incidents.

Morant reportedly had an altercation with a teenager during a pick-up basketball game. His entourage allegedly threatened members of the Indiana Pacers security staff, and most recently Morant was seen waving a gun in an Instagram Live video.

The Murray State product is now away from the team for what appears to be an indefinite period of time. And a pair of former star athletes are speaking out in hopes of reaching Morant.

Jalen Rose Sends Message To Ja Morant On Off-Court Issues

First, it was ESPN’s Jalen Rose who spoke on Morant’s situation.

“I am Ja Morant,” Rose said. “You guys got a chance to see me grow up for public consumption since 1991. I’ve been involved in drug raids, I’ve survived assassination attempts, I’ve been that undisciplined young person that was trying to figure out how to be famous, how to be successful, how to change the dynamics of my family.”

Rose continued to say that he believes Morant is in the process of changing his behavior.

“He’s a 23-year-old young man, nobody got arrested, nobody got injured, and I’m hearing too many stories about pistols, ok?” Rose said. “Allegedly with the 17-year-old kid, allegedly with the Indiana Pacers staff, last night on IG Live, I saw the video like you guys did brandishing the gun. The next step to that is now recovery, and I believe he’s on that path, I’m happy that he’s on that path.

“He’s gonna return, and he’s gonna be a better person, and because of all of this taking place, he’s gonna be able to live his full potential.”

Shannon Sharpe Speaks Out On Ja Morant Incident

Following Rose’s message, another former athlete turned TV star also spoke out. Shannon Sharpe touched on Morant’s situation on Monday’s episode of FOX Sports’ Undisputed.

“Let me tell you something about this internet, Skip,” Sharpe began. “You start flashing your money, somebody gon’ come see ya. You start flashing a gun on IG Live, somebody gon’ check ya and see if you really about that gun play. That type of rhetoric, over the IG, let that go.

“Ja, I mean why? Skip, why would somebody that has a $231 million dollar (contract) want to have gun play?…Look, he has a right. He has a second amendment right. But the NBA says ‘yeah, we’re not gonna infringe on that right. But you(‘re) not gonna bring that to the arenas. You’re not gonna have that at your training facilities. And you(‘re) definitely not gonna bring that on the plane.’ So, that’s where he ran afoul with the NBA and it shows just how tone deaf he is.”

Both Rose and Sharpe appear to want to help Morant. But ultimately it’s up to Morant to figure things out for himself.