Ja Morant's Recent Behavior Highlights The Toxic Appeal Of Traditional Masculinity

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This is Keeping Score, where Albert Samaha dissects the juiciest dramas of the sports world.

Earlier this month, Ja Morant, the high-flying 23-year-old Memphis Grizzlies guard who has emerged as one of the NBA’s most exciting young stars, took time away from his team to attend counseling sessions. His decision came at a critical juncture of the season’s home stretch — but followed a series of troubling incidents.

First, in early February, a security guard at the Indiana Pacers’ arena reported that members of Morant’s entourage threatened him and that somebody in a vehicle Morant was riding in pointed a red laser beam that he feared was from a gun. Then, on March 1, the Washington Post revealed that police reports from last summer contained allegations that Morant had punched a teenager during a pickup basketball game and flashed a gun at him, as well as allegations that on another occasion Morant was with a group of people who threatened and pushed a mall security guard who Morant said was being disrespectful toward his mother. Three days after the article was published, Morant seemed to double down on his burgeoning bad boy image by posting a video of himself holding a gun in a Denver club.