Ja Morant's Altercations, Police Interactions Detailed in Washington Post Report

Additional details came to light regarding previously reported off-court incidents involving Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant in an investigative story from the Washington Post's Gus Garcia-Roberts and Molly Hensley-Clancy on Thursday.

The report also centers on the response—or lack thereof—from Memphis authorities and Grizzlies officials:

"Word of Morant's behavior spread quickly through parts of sports media, some journalists would later say publicly. And behind the scenes, records and interviews show, the Grizzlies worked with police. But months passed with no public discipline or media coverage of the allegations against Morant. Neither the Grizzlies nor the NBA, which said it requires teams to report incidents involving police, reached out to the alleged victims in incidents involving Morant, three of them told The Post."

First alluding to Morant flashing what appeared to be a handgun at a Colorado nightclub, Garcia-Roberts and Hensley-Clancy detailed how his "other alleged conduct was more serious than how it had been portrayed, in the press and by Morant himself."

Last July, Morant was among a group that came to a Finish Line store to confront an employee, Givon Busby, who had upset Morant's mother, Jamie.

In an interview with ESPN's Jalen Rose, the veteran point guard explained he arrived to make sure his mother was safe and left when he felt reassured she was fine.

However, Busby told the Washington Post he felt threatened because Morant entered an area of the store only for employees and asked where he was.

"Busby, the shoe salesman, said he spent nearly an hour in the storeroom, at times 'shaking' with emotion, as Morant, who arrived at the sneaker store with eight or nine others, shouted through the door, threatening that he would wait for him to come out," the report said.

Although Busby filed a report with police, officers never followed up with him.

Garcia-Roberts and Hensley-Clancy noted the Shelby County Sheriff's Office in Tennessee was similarly deliberate after officers first responded to a home where 17-year-old Joshua Holloway said he was punched during a pickup game involving Morant last July.

According to the report, officers spoke with Holloway at the scene but waited six weeks before formally interviewing Morant and "even then they avoided asking Morant key questions." The case was dropped by prosecutors who pointed to a lack of evidence.

Holloway told the reporters he angered Morant when he threw the ball toward the Grizzlies player and it hit him in the face. Morant allegedly punched him in the face, and one of Morant's friends allegedly struck him in the back of the head as well.

A deputy for the sheriff's office made note of a knot on Holloway's head at the scene.

One of Morant's attorney's, Keenan Carter, disputed the allegation to the Washington Post and said none of the eyewitness accounts "supports [Holloway's] version of what transpired that evening."

The Morant family also spoke with a lieutenant from the sheriff's office two weeks after the altercation and said Holloway had threatened "to light the block up."

Holloway told Garcia-Roberts and Hensley-Clancy he didn't recall saying anything along those lines.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim MacMahon reported on March 13 that Morant was entering a counseling program amid his indefinite leave from the NBA. The NBA subsequently issued an eight-game suspension.

Morant spoke with Rose on March 16 and addressed what had happened off the court.

"The majority of the things that's happened in the past, obviously, I kind of put myself into by even being there," he said to Rose. "But all the incidents you've seen recently, most of them is a lie."

Morant also denied the gun in the Instagram post was his but didn't specify who it belonged to.

The two-time All-Star made his return to the court in Memphis' 130-125 win over the Houston Rockets on March 22.