The highly awaited decision on Ja Morant was recently made public by the NBA. The young star is serving a 25-game ban starting at the beginning of the 2023-24 season. The announcement is enduring mixed reactions from fans and industry experts alike. However, a celebrated journalist stated that he’s not surprised by the ban and its duration.

In lieu of the forthcoming NBA finals, Adam Silver was withholding all the related information. As soon as the Denver Nuggets lifted the trophy, the anticipation surrounding Morant’s career and NBA’s future grew. While the Memphis Grizzlies star issued an apology after the ban, an esteemed journalist recently shared moving pro-Black opinions on this matter.

Stephen A. Smith blasts Ja Morant after his 25-game suspension

Morant’s facing the media since the beginning of this year for a lot of wrong reasons. Earlier this year, he was banned from his team for flashing a firearm on his Instagram Live. Soon after the IG live, he was seen doing the same activity all over again. This caught NBA’s attention as the video and screenshots spread like wildfire.

Everyone anticipated Morant will face trouble for these actions. However, the NBA leadership was waiting for the right moment for its verdict. Now when the NBA has announced that there will be a 25-game ban on Morant, reactions are pouring in on this major decision.

Stephen A. Smith recently addressed the ban on his show. Admittedly a Morant fan, Smith said that he’s not surprised by NBA’s decision. In fact, he said that the Grizzlies star and his fans should feel lucky that the ban is only for 25 games and not more.

He further expresses that had the NBA decided to ban Morant for the entire season, Smith would’ve objected to it. While the ESPN analyst blasted off Morant for his actions, he also empathized with him. He delivered a moving monologue on being pro-Black and how it saddens him to see his people in trouble due to their own actions.

He said that he doesn’t see the color of people’s skin, rather he judges people by “the content of their character.”

Read More: Months After $40,000,000 Loss Due to Detrimental Conduct, Ja Morant?s Gun Show Off Causes Him Another Suspension

Ja Morant’s suspension news met with a moving speech

Smith further said that everything Morant does is a choice where he’s compromising his future. Choices like these can cost him as much as $60 million.

His moving opinions about Morant even included how superstar athletes like him are in a rather sensitive spot since they’re at the forefront of the public eye. Morant’s not being genuinely apologetic about displaying and waving around dangerous weapons is hampering his image.

Summing up his thoughts, Smith says that the NBA player will come back again and wreak havoc. Despite whatever he does, he still roots for him, displaying signs of empathy towards the player, provided he makes the right choices this time around.

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