The father of Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant was ejected from the stands during the team’s 125-112 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday.
Crew chief Josh Tiven said in the postgame pool report that Tee Morant made “very specific, overtly disrespectful comments” regarding “the integrity of the game.”
“The fan continued to repeat overtly disrespectful comments about the integrity of the officiating crew, so as the Crew Chief I approached security and asked that he be removed,” Tiven said.
Ja Morant told reporters he was unsure of what led to his father’s ejection and said Tee “probably got kicked out so I didn’t” receive an ejection. The two-time All-Star added his dad was “probably complaining about something to the ref.”
Ja might have a long memory.
In a loss to the Thunder in December 2022, Morant picked up a pair of technical fouls inside the final minute of the first half and earned a one-way trip to the locker room.
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Ja Morant has been ejected from Grizzlies-Thunder. <a href=”https://t.co/urL2RLLdI3″>pic.twitter.com/urL2RLLdI3</a>
Ray Acosta was one of the officials for that game, and Acosta also worked Saturday’s contest.
While it appears the Morants weren’t happy with the refs’ performance in the Grizzlies’ defeat, Oklahoma City was whistled for more fouls (27) than Memphis (21), and the Grizzlies had a significant advantage in foul shots. They went 28-of-39 from the charity stripe compared to 17-of-21 for the Thunder.
