Ja Morant’s Actions After His Suspension Will Dictate His NBA Future

Ja Morant posted an Instagram video Saturday morning of himself at a nightclub shirtless and brandishing a gun. His Instagram and Twitter have since been de-activated and the post is no longer live. It was announced he will not play in the next two games and the NBA is investigating the incident. Morant has issued an apology saying he “takes full responsibility” for his actions. This was on the heels of a Washington Post article detailing the history of the accusations, from violence to threats, that Morant and friends have been accused of.

Such behavior is contrary to the NBA's core values and code of conduct. It raises a lot of red flags and his suspension might become longer than expected since he pulled his gun in Denver rather than at home in Memphis. This likely meant that Morant carried the gun on the team plane, a clear violation of an NBA rule. The NBA is currently investigating.

Now that he is squarely in the public eye and under intense scrutiny, Morant must decide who he wants to associate with and how that will affect his NBA and off the court career. These choices will determine how he is perceived, his future opportunities, and how history will judge him.

It is not too late to reverse public perception, but the time to act is now! Remember Charles Barkley’s image wasn’t always the greatest. After spitting on a fan, he famously claimed: “I ain’t no role model”. That is not the Barkley we know now who is among the most loved ex-athletes. I have witnessed first hand that he treats people with great respect and dignity in his public appearances. Kobe Bryant similarly was able to rehabilitate his image after sexual assault charges in 2003. Bryant has become a cult hero following his death not only because of his illustrious NBA career but because of his post retirement charitable work, his frequent talks designed to inspire young people to achieve greatness, and as a champion of women’s sports, including coaching his daughters basketball team.

Morant is potentially a generational talent along the lines of Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal and Lebron James. These athletes made good decisions by surrounding themselves with people that influenced them in a positive way that furthered their NBA career, public perception and ultimately, their off the court success. I know this from first-hand experience representing Shaquille O’Neal for over a decade and working every day to ensure that the people in his life supported his mission statement to inspire others to maximize their potential. The other above mentioned NBA icons managed to do the same thing: associate with people that influenced them in a positive manner and challenged them to realize their potential on and off the court.

And that leads back to Ja Morant, arguably the league’s most exciting, dynamic and explosive player. He is truly remarkable. That is even more reason why his off the court choices are so important and how critical it is who he lets into his inner circle.

The classic study conducted by psychologist Solomon Asch in the 1950s confirms the power of the friend group. The Asch Conformity Experiment showed that people will often conform to the opinions of others in a group, even if those opinions are clearly wrong. They will gravitate towards a social identify likened to their friends as well as confirming to the code of conduct exhibited by the group.

Another corollary to this is the Framingham Heart Study Social contagion research has shown that people's attitudes and behaviors can be "contagious" within social networks. In other words, you naturally gravitate towards what your circle of friends do and promote. These studies prove that the people we spend time with can impact our decision-making processes, so if people around you are encouraging you to lead the “thug” life, the likelihood is that you will comply.

However, Morant can’t simply get off blaming his circle of friends for his bad conduct. The responsibility of these choices falls squarely on Morant’s shoulders and what he decides to do at this moment in time will determine his life’s journey. Morant should look in the mirror and decide where he wants to be 10 or 15 years from now. What type of life does he want to lead? What is his purpose? What type of people does he want to be influenced by and learn from? The buck stops with him and the time is now.

I suggest he get together with his representatives and family and do some immediate pruning of those in his inner circle of friends. The questions he needs to ask is who around me will help and inspire me to maximize my potential, move culture in a positive way, and lead a happy and fulfilling life for myself and my family?

Morant has been blessed with remarkable talent and he is at a pivotal point in his life where his near-term decisions will have a lasting impact. Hopefully, he’ll have an epiphany and realize how he can be a beacon of light to inspire others in ways that few have the opportunity to do.