NBA writer leaks audio of Ja Morant allegedly calling Ray Acosta 'a ho' 1 year after ejection vs OKC Thunder

A year ago, Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant was ejected from a game against the OKC Thunder after he got into it with a fan. One of the game officials, Ray Acosta, had already given the star a technical foul before this, which led to him getting ejected. This reportedly caused Morant to call the official "a ho" in a post-game interview.

Fans usually get into it with players, which causes them to get riled up. This frequently happens around the league, especially in the postseason. However, what happened between Morant and the fan wasn't in the playoffs.

NBA insider, Tom Haberstroh claims that he has an audio file of Morant calling the referee that ejected him "a ho" in an unreleased interview. Haberstroh posted these claims on X (formerly Twitter), writing:

"Last year, Ja Morant called an NBA referee 'a ho' on the record in an interview after a game in OKC," Haberstroh posted. "It never got out. I obtained the audio, and reflected on the important role of in-person media as a guardrail for the NBA superstar."

Fortunately for Morant, the interview was never released. The media outlet that conducted the interview opted not to reveal it to the public while Morant served his 25-game suspension. This way, the star was able to solely focus on learning how to handle his off-court issues.

You might also be interested in reading this: Shaquille O’Neal seemingly backs Ja Morant by sharing it’s 'New Orleans dance' not 'pistols and bazooka' celebrations post on Instagram

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Former NBA player calls out Ja Morant for his celebration against the New Orleans Pelicans

Ja Morant led the Memphis Grizzlies to their fourth straight win on Tuesday against the New Orleans Pelicans. His late-game heroics saved the day for the Grizzlies as they won their second of three games against Zion Williamson and company.

The final play that sealed the game for Memphis was an alley-oop sequence from Marcus Smart to Morant. As the All-Star guard got down on the floor, he quickly went into celebration mode and did a New Orleans dance.

Not a lot of people knew it at the time, which was the reason he was called out by analysts and spectators. Former player Lou Williams was one of the people who quickly shared their thoughts on his celebration.

"It’s silly at this point. It’s silly. Like, bro, what are you doing? Stop playing with fire," Williams said. "The world is watching. Your fans are watching. The NBA is watching. Don't do anything, that got anything, with any kind of arms, my brother. Stop it."

Luckily for Morant, plenty of fans and other current and former players backed him up as they were aware of the dance's roots.