Ja Morant has been spared any jail time for punching a teen back in July 2022 as the court ruled that he was only doing self-defense against a 17-year-old teen.
Shelby County Circuit Judge Carol Chumney said the Memphis Grizzlies star was acting under Tennessee's self-defense immunity statute, which gives an accused a presumption of civil immunity.
The statute shifts the burden of proof to the accuser.
The case was filed in September 2022, wherein accuser Josh Holloway claimed that Morant punched him and brandished a gun after the altercation.
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The incident started from a pick-up game they were having at the NBA player's home.
Frustrated at losing, Holloway reportedly threw the ball at Morant, who was hit in the face. Morant retaliated, and his friend Davonte Pack joined him and punched the 17-year-old kid, too.
Pack was arrested for misdemeanor assault.
Morant went inside his house and came out with a gun.
Morant was subjected to a civil immunity hearing in December last year and testified that he swung at Holloway only to protect himself.
Morant's defense
During the hearing in December, Morant narrated how the confrontation went.
"What you on?" he asked Holloway who he claimed pulled up his shorts instead of answering.
"Him pulling up his shorts, where I'm from, that's a fighting stance," Morant explained.
Holloway is not a small guy, as he is also an aspring basketball player.
The incident started a series of scandals and suspensions for Morant.
He was not suspended by the league for punching a teen, but he started behaving in a way that violated the league's gun rules.
He was subsequently suspended for 13 games initially and then another 25 games for flashing a gun on Instagram Live.
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