Ja Morant appeared to break his social media silence to refute a report that his camp felt the league and media were out to get them.

It all started after media outlets picked up on a comment made by ESPN’s Tim MacMahon while on the “Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective podcast” on Monday. 

“I have heard indirectly that Ja and people close to Ja, perhaps people formerly close to Ja, have this feeling that the NBA out to get them,” MacMahon said. “That the media is out to get them.”

Morant was suspended by the NBA for 25 games to start the 2023-24 season after he was caught on a livestream appearing to hold a firearm just months after being suspended for eight games for a similar issue. 

The Grizzlies star apologized in a public statement after the suspension was announced, but the MacMahon report picked up enough traction for those close to Morant to respond. 

Mo Wells, the Director of Pro Sports for The Kollective, quote tweeted MacMahon’s report with a GIF of a “big cap” indicating that the report didn’t hold any merit. 

The term “big cap” is another way of saying that somebody is lying. 

Morant appeared to see the tweet and retweeted it before he deleted the retweet a short time later, according to All Grizzlies. 

The Memphis point guard has become an NBA star in his time with the Grizzlies, but the two high-profile firearm-related incidents — among a litany of other off-court issues — have raised some concerns. 

Not only was Morant suspended for 25 games for the second incident, but he also has to “formulate and fulfill a program with the league that directly addresses the circumstances that led him to repeat this destructive behavior.”

The NBA Players Association condemned the length of Morant’s punishment after it was announced. 

“Ja has expressed his remorse and accepted responsibility for his actions, and we support him unequivocally as he does whatever is necessary to represent himself, our players and our league in the best possible light,” the statement read.

“As to the discipline imposed, which keeps him off the court until December and requires some unstated conditions to be met before he can return, we believe it is excessive and inappropriate for a number of reasons including the facts involved in this particular incident, and that it is not fair and consistent with past discipline in our league. We will explore with Ja all options and next steps.”