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Ja Morant has established himself as one of the most exciting young talents in the NBA since he was drafted by the Grizzlies in 2019.
The high-flying guard more than lived up to the expectations that come with being selected with the second overall pick, and it was only natural that a number of major brands decided to hitch their wagon to the Grizzlies star.
Earlier this month, Powerade revealed it had tapped Morant to serve as the face of a new ad campaign at the center of a rebrand the sports drink company was hoping would help it put a dent in Gatorade’s market share.
Powerade sports drink is relaunching its brand and making Ja Morant its first athlete partnership in more than five years 🔥, per @DamichaelC
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 1, 2023
Unfortunately, the timing of that announcement could not have been worse.
An article detailing an alleged incident that unfolded between Morant and the 17-year-old he reportedly punched repeatedly during an altercation surfaced just a few hours after the Powerade spot was unveiled
Things got even worse a few days later when Morant (who had already been at the center of a couple of high-profile controversies over the course of the current season) decided it would be a good idea to flash a gun on Instagram Live, which resulted in the Grizzlies suspending him for at least two games (although it appears it may be a fairly lengthy hiatus).
Now, it looks like Morant may have fumbled the massive bag he likely received from Powerade, as a number of people noticed the brand has quietly scrubbed the commercial from its social media platforms and removed mentions of images of the (likely former) ambassador from its website.
Morant can take some solace in knowing Nike has publically thrown its support behind him, and the fact that he still has a five-year deal worth upwards of $213 million to fall back on (at least for now) will probably make this development sting a little bit less.