“I'm sorry for failing you as a role model” – Ja Morant's statement after 25 games suspension from NBA

Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant has officially had his suspension handed down by the NBA this morning. Prior to the start of the NBA Finals, Adam Silver revealed that the league was ready to issue Morant his punishment.

However, as Silver stated, the league wanted to wait until after the finals were over so as not to take away from the series between the Nuggets and Heat.

On Friday, the league announced Ja Morant would miss the first 25 games of the season after brandishing a firearm on Instagram Live. Following the news, Morant released a written statement, which was relayed by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

His statement reads in part:

"I've had time to reflect and I realize how much hurt I've caused. I want to apologize to the NBA, the Grizzlies,my teammates and the city of Memphis. To Adam Silver, Zach Kleiman and Robert Pera - who gave me the opportunity to be a professional athlete and have supported me - I'm sorry for the harm I've done.

"To the kids who look up to me, I'm sorry for failing you as a role model. I promise I'm going to be better. To all of my sponsors, I'm going to be a better representation of our brands. And to all of my fans, I'm going to make it up to you, I promise."

You can read his full written statement below.

Ja Morant’s message to his teammates after the suspension

As Ja Morant wrote in his statement, he won’t be with his teammates for the start of the season thanks to the 25 game suspension. Despite that, he plans to continue to get in shape so that when he returns, he can hit the ground running.

While making their decision on how to handle the situation with Morant, the league was aware of the fact that a longer suspension would mean more free time for the young star. While a 25-game suspension is certainly much longer than his eight-game suspension last season, he would likely return before the NBA’s Christmas game.

On the heels of a season where he and the Memphis Grizzlies put on an impressive run over the course of the year, the team will look to build momentum once Morant returns.

Do you think the suspension Ja Morant received was fair? Or did the NBA come down on him too hard? Drop your thoughts in the comments section below!