NBA Rookie of the Year candidate, Ja Morant, was on the wrong end of a social media first storm.
On Sunday, Morant took to Twitter where he apologized for posting a picture that offended law enforcement officers.
"My post was intended to focus on the bad cops who get away with the murder of unarmed Black men and women, and those who continue to harass peaceful BLACK LIVES MATTER protesters," Morant wrote. "I know there are good cops '12' out there. I know some, and a few are family. I am thankful to the cops at Murray State who took care of me, and the cops who continue to watch over me with the Grizzlies."
Last week, the NBA revealed that it was in talks with the Players Association about allowing athletes that are returning to play in the bubble to replace their last names with social messages. Like almost everything that hits NBA Twitter, this took on a life of its own. Since Ja wears the no. 12—which is slang for police. Some fans thought it was funny to photoshop "Fuck" where Morant's name would be his Memphis Grizzlies jersey so that his social message would be "Fuck 12." Ja caught wind of this and decided to post one of the photoshopped pictures on his social media accounts with the comment "nah fr tho."
After doing so, a wave of fans tied to law enforcement started to bash Ja.
But there was also a section of fans who understood Ja's message and stood behind his initial tweet.
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