Stephen A Smith ‘proud’ of Ja Morant after NBA star’s ban for flashing gun making ‘alarming’ Allen Iverson comparison
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STEPHEN A Smith said he was ‘proud’ of Ja Morant after the NBA star was banned for flashing a gun.
Morant, 23, apologized for his actions after a video on his Instagram live went viral.
The Memphis Grizzlies banned him for two games after seeing the clip where Morant was seen holding a gun.
It came just days after a police report from last year said he allegedly punched a teenage boy 12 or 13 times and flashed a gun at him.
ESPN personality Stephen A appeared on an NBA countdown show this weekend.
And he compared Morant’s situation to Allen Iverson, who he covered when he was a beat writer in Philadelphia.


Iverson was a supreme talent but was often in the news for off-court issues.
And Smith said: “I want to preface my comments by saying I’m really proud of the statement that Ja Morant put out.
“I want to make sure that Ja Morant, his friends and his family know that all of us here are fans of his.
“Anything we say, we’re saying it in the best interests of his future.
“I covered Allen Iverson in the first 10 years of his career every day and when I tell you that was a beat in itself, it was a different level.
“When you look at Ja Morant, the one thing I find incredibly alarming, there was so much stuff that Allen Iverson took hits for that had nothing to do with him but everything to do with the company he kept.
“He was from the streets, very loyal, not diming out anybody, he’d take a lot of hits.”
“But In this particular instance, that’s Ja on film. He had no choice but to own it and be honest with it and I applaud him for embracing that.”
Stephen A then issued a passionate plea to the 23-year-old Memphis Grizzlies star.
He said: “Let me look into the camera and say what I’m about to say to Ja Morant.
“You are a superstar, you’re 23 years old, you’ve got a deal that kicks in next year that could exceed $231m over the next five years.
“On this show, on national television, you’re associated with police.


“Think about that for a second and ask yourself if it’s really worth it – I think you know the answer to that, it’s not worth it.
“You’re a superstar basketball player, you represent your organization, your family, your city. You’ve got to be mindful of all of that.”
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