Paul Pierce comes out in support of Ja Morant, reveals he "carried a gun" too: "When u black and rich u a target period"

Memphis Grizzlies star point guard Ja Morant has been under heavy scrutiny as of late for his off-court behavior. Morant’s questionable decision-making culminated over the weekend when he brandished a gun during an Instagram Live video in a nightclub on Saturday.

Morant has since been sent away from the Grizzlies indefinitely. However, according to Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce, people are being too critical of Morant without knowing all the details of his situation.

Pierce came to Morant’s defense via a tweet on Sunday in which he said that he also carried a gun at one point. This came after Pierce was stabbed 11 times following an incident at a Boston nightclub in September 2000. Pierce explained that sometimes it is necessary to carry a gun as being a rich black man can lead to unwanted attention:

“Don’t care what y’all say about Ja I carried a gun after I was stabbed y’all don’t know what he going thru everyone got something to say until u really know what’s really going on in someone life when u black and rich u a target period,” Pierce tweeted.

The NBA is investigating Morant’s Instagram Live video to determine the severity of his punishment. It remains to be seen whether Morant will be fined or suspended for his actions.

However, the NBA collective bargaining agreement prohibits players from possessing firearms while at NBA facilities or while traveling for NBA-related business. So it appears that Morant is in a tough spot regardless of what fans, players and media members think of his actions.

Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins speaks on Ja Morant controversy

Memphis Grizzlies star point guard Ja Morant and Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins

Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins spoke in depth about Ja Morant’s gun-wielding incident before Memphis’ loss to the LA Clippers on Sunday. Jenkins highlighted how the Grizzlies organization will continue to support Morant through his struggles and help him grow as a person:

"Very tough moment, for sure," Jenkins said.

"He understands he's made some difficult decisions and poor choices in the past that he's got to account for. He's definitely embracing the mistakes that he's made but only time will tell. We're going to support him and we're going to hold him accountable to make those changes.

"We love him, we want what's best for him, we support him. It's going to be a difficult process but we've got a great group to get through this. My hope is that he just gets better. He knows he's got a lot of love and support."

Ja Morant has already issued a formal apology for his actions, explaining that he will look to find better outlets for his stress:

"I take full responsibility for my actions last night. I'm sorry to my family, teammates, coaches, fans partners, the city of Memphis and the entire Grizzlies organization for letting you down. I'm going to take some time away to get help and work on learning better methods of dealing with stress and my overall well-being."

However, as previously noted, Morant and the Grizzlies are now left awaiting the outcome of the league’s investigation into the incident.

Memphis (38-25, second in the West) is 4-6 without Morant this season. So it may be difficult for the team to maintain a top playoff seed if Morant is forced to miss an extended period.