Ja Morant Testifies That He Punched Teen To ‘Protect Myself,’ Reenacts Altercation For Courtroom

Bossip
Video

Ja
Morant
–
Source:
Kevork
Djansezian
/
Getty

Memphis
Grizzlies
star
Ja
Morant
recently
took
the
stand
in
a
civil
trial
amid
allegations
he
punched
a
teenager
at
his
home.

If
you’re
wondering
what
Ja
Morant
has
been
up
to
while

serving
his
25-game
suspension,
the
answer
probably

won’t
surprise
you.
One
thing
that’s
been
occupying
his
time
is
a
civil
trial
he’s
embroiled
in
for

allegedly
punching
a
teen in
2022.

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Stories

According
to

NBC
DFW,
on
Monday,
Morant
took
the
stand
and
admitted
to
striking
Joshua
Holloway,
who
was
17
at
the
time,
at
his
home.
He
also
gave
the
court
a
play-by-play
of
the
events
that
led
to
the
altercation.

NBC
reports
that
Holloway
and
the
NBA
star
were
playing
a
pickup
basketball
game
when
the
plaintiff
improperly
checked
the
ball.
Reportedly,
Morant
took
an
issue
with
this
and
pushed
it
back
to
the
teen,
who
then
lunged
the
ball
at
Morant.

The
ball
allegedly
hit
Morant
on
the
left
side
of
his
chin
and
both
reportedly
sized
each
other
up
before
the
teen
shoulder-bumped
the
NBA
player
while
pulling
up
his
shorts
with
a
balled-up
first.

If
you
know
anything
about
this
behavior,
a
tussle
was
immediately
on
the
agenda.

“I
thought
he
was
about
to
hit
me,
so
I
swung
first,”
Morant
said
in
court
explaining
why
he
hit
the
teen
per,

NBC.

That
answer
however
was
contested
by
Holloway’s
lawyer
Rebecca
Adelman.

“You
could
have
pushed
Joshua,”
Adelman
said,
reports

NBC.
“You
could
have
talked
to
him,
you
could
have
mentored
him,
you
could
have
said,
‘Hey
man,
this
isn’t
what
we
do
here,
leave
my
property.’”

Adelman
then
asked,
“Were
these
options
for
you?”

“Yes,”
Morant
said.

Later
in
her
cross-examination,
Adelman
asked
Morant
if
he
was
afraid
that
Holloway
was
going
to
hurt
him.

“Yes,”
he
said.

Criminal
charges
were
never
filed
against
Ja,
but
his
best
friend

Davonte
Pack
was
charged
with
misdemeanor
assault
before
those
charges
were
later
dropped.
Both
Pack
and
Morant
are
accused
of
assault,
reckless
endangerment,
infliction
of
emotional
distress,
and
abuse
or
neglect.
The
trial
is
still
ongoing,
and
a
verdict
could
come
before
the
New
Year.

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