Gee: Ja Morant made a mistake, but haven’t we all

Have you ever gone on Facebook and looked at your memories? You know, where you can see what you said on this day for every year that you’ve had Facebook.

I don’t know about you, but I often cringe about some of the things I’ve said back in the day. That had me thinking about Ja Morant.

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Ja made a mistake again, for some reason, he likes to listen to music while holding a gun. Have you ever done that? Yeah, neither have I.

Wait, who is Ja? Ja Morant is an NBA superstar for the Memphis Grizzlies. Earlier this year, he was suspended 8 games for brandishing a gun inside a strip club while listening to music. He came back, finished the season, and then got caught doing it again.

Here’s the kicker. He’s getting caught using his own platform. Have you ever got caught that way? So according to the NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, he’s facing very heavy punishment.

So, let’s talk about this. First, let me get this out of the way. Ja, what the hell are you doing?!?!

Okay, I’m back.

I had to scream that because of his suspension earlier during the season, which caused him to miss the requirement on games so he could make the All-NBA team. It’s being said he missed out on $39M because of his inability to meet the game requirements. Now can you understand why I screamed?

Young people make mistakes. A lot! They’re at a stage in their lives where they’re still learning and growing, and their mistakes are an integral part of this process.

It’s important to remember that making mistakes is not necessarily bad, as it can help us learn valuable life lessons and become better individuals.

I was young before, and one of my biggest challenges was peer pressure. You really didn’t wanna skip school, but your friends did it. You really didn’t wanna sneak out at night, but maybe your friends did it. Okay, maybe you’re perfect and never made mistakes growing up, so I’ll just throw myself under the bus.

I was punished for the mistakes I made growing up, but I wasn’t vilified.

Have you ever said, “Hey, I’m sure glad social media wasn’t around when I was young?” Well, social media and technology can also be a source of mistakes for young people today. They may share inappropriate content or even engage in cyberbullying, not realizing the potential harm they can cause to themselves and others. It’s important to educate young people on responsible social media use.

Ja Morant didn’t commit a crime, but he did do something dumb. Mistakes can be valuable learning experiences, and if young people are guided and supported through them, they can emerge wiser and more resilient than they once were. Ja needs to serve whatever punishment that his employer has in store for him, but he shouldn’t be vilified.

These stories that play out in front of us are tricky, one second, the story is about a celebrity, then at another point, you realize that your loved one is judged just as harshly. Look deeper into how society responds differently to some that make mistakes.

Listen to Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin weekday mornings from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

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