Skip Bayless Asks If Ja Morant Has ‘Dreams of Being a Crip’
Written by SOURCE on March 6, 2023
On the latest episode of Undisputed, Skip Bayless questioned if Ja Morant has “dreams of being a crip” following a video that saw him flash a gun.
“So I’ve called around the league to people I’ve known forever, talking about Ja,” Bayless said. “Because I was so shocked by the IG Live, how brazen it was. And I had several people say to me, ‘Well, timeout, are you sure you guys on TV aren’t giving him a pass here, like you’re not that?’ They’re asking me, ‘Are you sure he’s not that?’ Like, that’s just who he is, that he is about that life.’ And remember, he’s thrown up the Crips sign, I’ve seen him throw it up two or three times, I’ve probably missed some other times.”
Shannon sharpe previously accused Morant of attempting to act “hard,” and questioned why the Memphis Grizzlies player has surrounded himself with “these type of people.” When Bayless mentioned Morant “throwing up a crip sign,” Sharpe appeared to nod in agreement.
“What does that mean? Does that mean he wants to associate with the Crips?” Bayless continued. “Or he got initiated by the Crips? Or he has a dream of being a Crip? I don’t know. I’m just throwing this out–that, are we missing the boat here that that’s just who he’s been from the start and we keep saying, ‘No, you’re just associated with the wrong people,’ when he’s actually part of the wrong people.”
Sharpe added, “You know what Skip? You and the people you talked to might be 100 percent correct, but that makes it even more egregious. Because you got out of that.”
Bayless’ comments come after the Grizzlies suspended Morant for “at least” two games following an Instagram video the All-Star posted that showed him brandishing a gun at a strip club.
“I take full responsibility for my actions last night,” Morant said in a statement on the matter, noting that he plans to “get help” to manage his stress. “I’m sorry to my family, teammates, coaches, fans, partners, the city of Memphis and the entire Grizzlies organization for letting you down. I’m going to take some time away to get help and work on learning better methods of dealing with stress and my overall well-being.”
Just prior to the controversial video, an extensive report from The Washington Post detailed two incidents of violent behavior from Morant and some of his associates. He has been accused of punching a 17-year-old repeatedly in the head during a pick-up basketball game at his Memphis home in July 2022, and also allegedly threatened a head of security at a Memphis mall when his mother got into a verbal argument with an employee at a Finish Line store.
