Shannon Sharpe fumed Monday over Ja Morant apologists after the star Grizzlies point guard appeared to hold a gun in an Instagram Live video that surfaced over the weekend.
During Monday’s installment of FS1’s “Undisputed,” Sharpe expressed disgust over “the people that defended” Morant in the wake of Saturday’s incident, which came less than three months after the 23-year-old athlete brandished a weapon in a social media clip from a Denver-area strip club.
“I’m mad, I’m upset, I’m disgusted by the people that defended him because that’s what got us here,” Sharpe began.
The NFL Hall of Famer, who remarked about the online criticism he endured from past takes on Morant, then segued into how recent behavior can potentially impact the athlete’s bottom line, notably, the future of his endorsement deals.
“I want to know, who is going to be the treasurer of that GoFundMe? Because he’s about to lose that NBA contract. He’s about to lose that Powerade endorsement… I want all the people that said, ‘Let Ja, be Ja,’ are y’all going to be the treasure of that GoFundMe account?” Sharpe said.
He then referenced how Morant’s eight-game suspension for the March transgression cost him $39 million on his next Grizzlies contract as he only started 59 out of 82 games.
Morant signed a five-year rookie maximum extension with the Grizzlies worth up to $231 million in 2022.
Sharpe added Morant is “about to lose another $20-$30 million of these endorsements.”
Morant debuted his first signature shoe with Nike on Christmas Day last year and became the new face of Powerade in a multi-year deal that was announced March 1.
Powerade pulled its ads of Morant after the first gun incident, with a spokesperson for the company stating Monday, “At this time we do not have any Ja-related content running.”
Sharpe then expressed how Morant is the CEO of his empire before asking, “What CEO you know, carrying a tool? What CEO you know on IG live?
“… I don’t see anybody leave big corporations, CEO caring a stick around if you feel that unsafe. Hire security, [that’s] all you got to do,” Sharpe suggested, noting Lakers superstar LeBron James is rarely seen without his own security team.
“But ‘nah, nah, nah. I don’t need no security. I got that fire with me. Let you all know I’m about this life.’”
Sharpe then pondered working so hard at one’s craft only to let the opportunity slip away.
Warning: Graphic language
“Your mom and dad did everything they could to protect you when you were growing up… Now it looks like Ja came from a middle class. But whatever it is, he wanted to ascend to a higher level, have better than what he had growing up.
“He gets to that point and not only does he not want to go back to the middle class in which he came from, he want to go back to the trenches… After you make 40 mil, you makin’ 40, 50 mil a year, and you want to live that lifestyle? For what?”
Morant has since been suspended from all team activities by the Grizzlies, the team announced Sunday.
“We are aware of the social media video involving Ja Morant,” the Grizzlies said in a statement.
“He is suspended from all team activities pending League review. We have no further comment at this time.”
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Sunday that Morant could potentially face “a lengthy suspension to start next season.”
“I sense already today that [commissioner] Adam Silver is going to feel increasing pressure from other teams in the league who see this as much as it impacts the Grizzlies. It impacts their ability to market their players,” Wojnarowski said on “NBA Countdown.”
During his first suspension this past spring, Morant attended a short counseling program in Florida.
He then sat down with ESPN’s Jalen Rose — who hosts “The Renaissance Man” podcast for The Post — and took full responsibility for his actions the first time around.
“The gun wasn’t mine,” Morant said of the strip club incident. “It’s not who I am. I don’t condone any type of violence, but I take full responsibility for my actions.
“I’ve made a bad mistake. I can see the image that I’ve painted over myself with my recent mistakes. In the future, I’m gonna show everybody who Ja really is, what I’m about, and change this narrative.”
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