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Ja Morant's Celebration Controversy Receives Major Update

Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant was not doing a gun celebration
Joey Linn|
Ja Morant's Celebration Controversy Receives Major Update
Ja Morant's Celebration Controversy Receives Major Update

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Memphis Grizzlies

Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant hit a celebration in Tuesday night's win over the New Orleans Pelicans that was misinterpreted by many. The "Rock Ya Hips" dance that Morant used for his celebration originated in Louisiana, where Morant was playing the Pelicans.

Morant explained this himself after the game, sharing this post:

Despite this, the celebration was still misinterpreted as a gun celebration, most notably by former Grizzlies forward Chandler Parsons, who said the following during an episode of FanDuel TV's Run It Back:

"We're laughing because it's so shocking that we're even talking about him doing possibly the slightest thing gun related at this point," Parsons said. "And you can see he almost catches himself... It's ridiculous. You gotta grow up. Why are we talking about this? Your team is 4-0. You look unbelievable. You've now been probably forgiven to a certain point... Why are you giving us anything like this to even talk about, to discuss, that's negative... What else has to happen for you, and your family, and your friends to learn? Make this about basketball, make this about your life, make this about your livelihood, and stop doing things like this, because you're must-see TV on the court... Don't give us any of this other bulls--t to talk about."

This controversy received a major update on Wednesday evening when the creator of the "Rock Ya Hips" dance, Subtweet Shawn, shared a video with Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal that explained everything:

Urging people to stop confusing the dance for a gun celebration, the creator of the dance himself was able to explain exactly what Morant was doing.

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Joey Linn
JOEY LINN

Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA and WNBA for On SI. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined On SI to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts and in the classroom earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time, primarily serving as a Clippers beat writer.

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