Judge rules that Ja Morant acted in self-defense when he punched teenager
A Shelby County Circuit Court judge ruled in favor of Memphis Grizzlies star point guard Ja Morant, writing in a court order Tuesday that Morant fairly acted in self-defense when he punched a teenage basketball player during a pickup basketball game in July 2022.
Morant was granted the "presumption of civil immunity" under Tennessee's self-defense immunity statute in an ongoing civil lawsuit stemming from the incident, which took place at Morant's home in Eads. The ruling comes after a three-day hearing in December that saw a number of witnesses take the stand, including Morant himself.
"The only direct evidence of the amount of force used by Mr. Morant is the testimony of Chip Brunt, who described Mr. Morant's single punch as a 'chin check' and not 'a hard hit at all,'" the ruling read. "Circumstantial evidence — the fact that plaintiff was not felled by the punch and showed no visible bruising or other injuries, did not appear dazed and drove himself home — supports Brunt's observations. This quantum exceeds the showing that the (Self Defense Immunity) Statute requires."
The lawsuit was originally filed in September 2022 and has been part of an ongoing saga between Morant and Joshua Holloway, the teen who was hit.
Depositions from witnesses detailed the scuffle, saying it began during a check-ball situation while a group played basketball at Morant's house in Eads. Witnesses said Holloway rolled the ball to Morant, and Morant threw it back to the teen for it to be properly checked.
This, witnesses testified, was when Holloway threw the ball at Morant's head. Whether or not it was intentional has been disputed, but the NBA player and teen then approached one another, with witnesses saying Holloway's fists were balled and the two seemed ready to fight.
At that point, Morant punched the teen once — which has been described as a "chin-check" — and Morant's long-time friend Davonte Pack then hit Holloway from behind, knocking him down.
The two were separated, and Holloway was escorted to his car. At some point after the scuffle, eyewitnesses reported hearing Holloway say he would "light the place up like fireworks," or some variation of that, which each witness said was interpreted as Holloway threatening to shoot at the house.
Holloway was 17 at the time but has since turned 18 and begun his college career. He played at Samford University this past season.
Questions remain about the case's future, however. Rebecca Adelman, one of the attorneys representing Holloway, has filed a motion challenging the constitutionality of Tennessee's stand-your-ground law and argued that it violates Holloway's due process rights.
A hearing about those arguments has not yet taken place, with Circuit Court Judge Carol Chumney previously ruling that Holloway does not have standing to question the constitutionality of the law since it was unclear whether Morant would be granted immunity in the case. Since Morant was granted immunity, the next step would be for a constitutional hearing to be held.
The Tennessee Attorney General has signed on to defend the law, which the office does when the constitutionality of state laws is questioned.
Should more hearings take place, any trial that takes place would likely be pushed back. Though Morant was granted immunity, Pack, who is a codefendant in the lawsuit, was not and the case could continue through Pack.
Pack was, at one point, criminally charged with misdemeanor simple assault in connection to the scuffle. Prosecutors in that case eventually dropped the charge.