"His ancestors disappointed" - NBA fans react to Ja Morant's tribute to Martin Luther King on MLK Day

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant is in the heat of a social frenzy after he posted an edited image of late civil rights activist Martin Luther King on MLK Day. The 2020 Rookie of the Year posted a photo on Instagram on Monday showing Martin Luther King with grills on his teeth.

King is well revered and the post didn't sit well with fans on social media. One user on X (formerly known as Twitter) made his feelings known, claiming his ancestors would be disappointed by his actions.

"his ancestors disappointed smh"

The sentiment was shared by other fans in the Twitterverse:

"Brother needs to stop this sh*t and look after his family man, he is the most fun player to watch this is not helping his reputation," a fan added.

"he's definitely not the most lucidly intelligent basketball player," another fan tweeted.

"Bro this ain't helping his image," a fan commented.

Another set of fans found the incident amusing.

"This n**** a clown son," a fan wrote.

"Them Carolina n**** be wilding lol," a fan added.

Despite the backlash, Ja Morant kept the photoshopped image on his Instagram Story. This will not be his first controversial post on social media as he has been involved in a couple throughout his career.

Most notably, the incident where he flashed a pistol on Instagram Live while he was at a strip club in Colorado got him suspended for eight games. He repeated the same thing and was slapped with a 25-game suspension without pay in the 2022-23 season.

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Ja Morant ineligible for end-of-season awards after missing crucial game

Ja Morant missed Friday's game against the San Antonio Spurs with a right foot injury and it was his 18th game missed this season. As per league rules, he won't meet the 65-game requirement to be eligible for the end-of-the-season awards (All-NBA, MVP and DPOY).

Ja Morant - Source: Imagn

In his absence, the Grizzlies took down the San Antonio Spurs 140-112 at Frost Bank Center. The two-time All-Star is averaging 21.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game for the Memphis Grizzlies this season.