MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) 鈥 Police in Tennessee conducted a welfare check Wednesday on suspended Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant and say 鈥渉e is fine鈥 after cryptic messages appeared on his Instagram account and were later deleted.
The post from earlier Wednesday included messages and pictures saying 鈥淟ove ya ma,鈥 鈥淟ove ya pops" and 鈥淵ou da greatest babygirl love ya.鈥 A fourth message simply read: 鈥淏ye.鈥
Shelby County Sheriff鈥檚 Office spokesman John Morris told The Associated Press in a phone call that deputies checked on Morant at his home Wednesday morning.
鈥淗e advised us that he is taking a break from social media,鈥 Morris said.
Morant, 23, was suspended from all team activities following a video of him holding a gun that circulated May 13 on social media. The video was the two-time All-Star鈥檚 second display of a firearm within three months in a social media video.
The first video cost Morant an in March. The second with his five-year, $194 million max contract set to begin this coming season.
The video captured May 13 and widely shared online was streamed by an associate of Morant and showed him holding what appeared to be a gun as he sat in the passenger seat of a vehicle. The first video showed him flashing a gun in a strip club.
The Grizzlies suspended Morant from team activities on May 14, pending the league鈥檚 investigation.
is projected to be paid $33.5 million for the 2023-24 season if the NBA salary cap is $134 million. A suspension of 20 games or fewer would cost Morant $231,034 per game while more than 20 games would mean he loses $304,545 a game.
Powerade, the sports drink company, pulled an ad featuring Morant almost immediately after the March video.
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