ja morant vs pacers

Shannon Sharpe Unloads on Ja Morant for Entourage Situation with Pacers

Shannon Sharpe has some words of advice for Ja Morant: “Just play basketball.” FS1’s co-host of Undisputed — who recently had his own run-in with the NBA superstar — had a strong reaction to the troubling reports regarding a confrontation between the Pacers and Morant’s friends.

Bob Kravitz and Sam Amick of The Athletic reported that a confrontation occurred between members of the Pacers and acquaintances of Morant following the Jan. 29 meeting in Memphis. Moments later, someone in a “slow-moving SUV” focused a laser near the team’s bus.

It’s a troubling report, to say the least. On Monday, Sharpe went all in on Morant, calling on the NBA star to separate himself from this kind of behavior.

“Ja is a really good basketball player. Ja did everything he could to lift himself and his family out of this type of environment and to get away from this,” Sharpe said. “And for some reason he wants to surround himself with these type of people. Why? Bro, you’re not hard, that’s not your life.”

Multiple individuals who spoke with The Athletic believed that the laser came from a gun. However, nobody in the area saw a weapon at the time.

“Just play basketball. … You’re putting yourself in harm’s way and it’s not a good look for you,” Sharpe said of Morant. “Stop this, man. This isn’t you.”

Shannon Sharpe Has His Own Run-in with Ja Morant

The reason Shannon Sharpe probably has some strong thoughts on Ja Morant’s situation is because the two had their own little spat a few weeks ago. Sharpe had to be escorted out of a game between the Grizzlies and Lakers last month after jawing with multiple members of the team.

Chirping started between Sharpe and Dillon Brooks but it eventually escalated to a point where Ja Morant and his father, Tee, got involved. Before too long, the entire Grizzlies bench began shouting at Sharpe.

A few days after the incident, Sharpe apologized for his actions during an airing of Undisputed.

“I want to apologize for my behavior,” Sharpe said. “You know, I’ve preached for the last six-and-a-half years, responsibility and accountability. And I take full responsibility for what transpired.

“It does not matter what Dillon Brooks said or how many times he said it. … I was wrong.”

Sharpe hasn’t been the biggest fan of Morant recently, anyway. That almost certainly added to his criticism of the NBA superstar on Monday.

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