FILE – Tee Morant, left, father of NBA participant Ja Morant, and Mike Miller, proper, stroll alongside the sideline within the first half of an NBA basketball sport between the Indiana Pacers and the Memphis Grizzlies, Dec. 1, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photograph/Brandon Dill, File)
Ja Morant’s father, Tee Morant, was requested to go away the constructing within the closing minutes of the Memphis Grizzlies’ 125-112 loss to the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder on Saturday night time.
“The fan continued to repeat overtly disrespectful statements in regards to the integrity of the officiating crew, in order the crew chief I approached safety and requested that he be eliminated,” crew chief Josh Tiven advised a pool reporter. “There have been very particular, overtly disrespectful feedback made in regards to the integrity of the crew.”
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Tiven stated he was conscious the fan being ejected was Ja Morant’s father.
READ: NBA: Thunder overwhelm Grizzlies in battle of West’s high groups
Tee Morant was sitting in a courtside seat when safety walked as much as his seat. He was escorted from the ground with 2:10 left and the Thunder up 122-107.
“He most likely received kicked out, so I didn’t,” Ja Morant stated after the sport. “Most likely complaining about one thing to the ref.”
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Requested if he or any of his gamers requested Ja Morant’s father be eliminated, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault stated: “To not my data. No.”
READ: Ja Morant ineligible for NBA awards after lacking 18th sport
Ja Morant had 16 factors within the sport, going 6 of 19 from the ground, and added seven assists.
“I form of knew it as a result of (one official) began getting mad once I requested him a query, and didn’t wish to speak,” the youthful Morant stated. “However we ain’t gonna go there.”
This isn’t the primary time a member of Morant’s entourage has been saved from Grizzlies dwelling sport. Morant’s good friend Davonte Pack was prohibited from attending video games for a yr after a Jan. 29, 2023, incident when he confronted members of the Indiana Pacers in the course of the sport from his seat alongside the sidelines.
