Grizzlies' Ja Morant Says 'Most' Legal Issues Reported Recently Are 'a Lie'

Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant is pushing back on some of the recent reporting about legal issues he's been attached to.

In his interview with ESPN's Jalen Rose (starts at 7:25 mark), Morant said "most" of the issues that have been reported are a "lie."

Morant noted he wasn't able to elaborate on those situations because "all of them are sealed," but he "can't wait to finally be able to tell the truth."

One of the legal issues Morant references stems from a March 1 report by Molly Hensley-Clancy of the Washington Post.

Citing a police report from last summer, Hensley-Clancy wrote Morant allegedly punched a teenage boy in the head multiple times during a pickup game at Morant's home. The teenager told authorities at one point Morant went into his house and came back outside with a handgun visible in the waistband of his pants.

Morant told police he was acting in self-defense after the teen threw a ball at his head and stepped toward him.

In a separate alleged incident from four days before the alleged assault, the head of security at a mall said in a police report Morant "threatened" him and someone with the Grizzlies guard shoved him in the head.

The Athletic's Bob Kravitz and Sam Amick reported last month Morant "aggressively confronted" members of the Indiana Pacers' traveling party near the team bus at the loading area in FedEx Forum following a Jan. 29 game.

Later, someone in a slow-moving SUV that Morant was riding in trained a red laser on members of the Pacers' group. Two members of the traveling party told Kravitz and Amick they couldn't see who shined the laser on them.

People in the Pacers' traveling party believed the laser was attached to the gun, but the NBA could not corroborate that as part of its investigation. Morant wasn't disciplined for that incident, but the league announced "certain individuals" involved were banned from attending Grizzlies home games.

The interview marked the first time Morant has spoken publicly since he has been away from the Grizzlies after flashing a gun inside a nightclub in a video he recorded for Instagram Live early in the morning hours on March 4.

Morant told Rose the gun wasn't his: "It's not who I am. I don't condone any type of violence, but I take full responsibility for my actions. Made a bad mistake."

The NBA announced on Wednesday an eight-game suspension for Morant that includes the six games he's already missed. The 23-year-old will be eligible to return on March 20, but head coach Taylor Jenkins told reporters he will need a ramp-up period before getting into games.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim MacMahon reported on Monday that Morant entered a counseling program in Florida.

The Grizzlies play the Dallas Mavericks in the first game Morant is eligible to return.