National Basketball Association

Arrest warrant issued for friend of NBA star Ja Morant

Updated Jul. 12, 2023 12:07 p.m. ET

An arrest warrant has been issued for a close friend of Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant stemming from a fight during a pickup basketball game at the player's home last year, authorities said.

Davonte Pack, whom Morant has referred to as "my brother," has been charged with simple assault stemming from the July 2022 altercation in which a teenager says in a lawsuit that the All-Star guard and Pack punched him, the Shelby County district attorney's office said in a statement.

Online records show the warrant for Pack, 24, was issued Monday, the same day Morant's lawyers argued in civil court that the teen's lawsuit against Morant should be dismissed because he acted in self-defense after the teen threw a basketball at Morant and it hit Morant in the chin.

Morant's accuser was 17 when the lawsuit was filed. It accuses Morant and Pack of assault, reckless endangerment, abuse or neglect, and infliction of emotional distress. An amended complaint identified the plaintiff as Joshua Holloway, who is now 18.

Morant filed a countersuit accusing Holloway of slander, battery and assault.

No criminal charges have been filed against Morant. Lawyers defending Morant and Pack in the lawsuit didn't immediately respond to calls and emails seeking comment on the warrant.

The NBA suspended Morant for 25 games when the upcoming season starts after a second video of him flashing a handgun was posted online. The video of Morant showing a gun while sitting in the passenger seat of a car was posted after he finished serving an eight-game suspension in March for a video in which he flashed a handgun in a Denver-area strip club.

Morant apologized for both incidents.

Morant’s actions also were investigated after a Jan. 29 incident in Memphis that he said led to Pack being banned from home games for a year.

That incident followed a game against the Indiana Pacers. The Indianapolis Star and USA Today, citing unnamed sources, reported that multiple members of the Pacers saw a red dot pointed at them, and The Athletic reported that a Pacers security guard believed the laser was attached to a gun.

The NBA confirmed that unnamed individuals were banned from the arena but said its investigation found no evidence that anyone was threatened with a weapon.

Morant responded to that incident by tweeting that the reports "paint this negative image on me and my fam. & banned my brother from home games for a year. unbelievable." During the Jan. 29 game, there was barking between Pacers players and friends of Morant seated along the sideline. Pack was escorted from the arena as Pacers bench players shouted in Pack’s direction.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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