During Saturday night’s home loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Memphis Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant’s father, Tee Morant, was ejected in the late fourth quarter for questioning the integrity of the officials.
Referee Josh Tiven, who served as crew chief, alleged in a pool report that the elder Morant’s outburst occurred during a dead-ball situation with just over two minutes remaining.
Tiven says Tee Morant’s remarks were “overtly disrespectful statements about the integrity of the officiating crew.”
According to ESPN, Tee Morant yelled from his courtside seat, “The fix is in!” before security intervened.
Tiven confirmed that he recognized the individual as Morant’s father, and after hearing him continue to denounce the integrity of the officiating crew, he instructed security to remove him from his seat.
“The fan kept making overtly disrespectful comments about our crew’s integrity, so I had to act,” Tiven explained to a pool reporter.
In the aftermath, Ja Morant was asked about his father’s ejection.
He downplayed the incident, suggesting it was driven by his father’s frustration with the refs.
“He probably got kicked out so I didn’t get ejected,” the Grizzlies guard said. “Probably complaining about something to the ref.”
When asked whether anyone on the opposing side had requested his removal, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault replied, “Not to my knowledge. No.”
The game ended with the Thunder coming away with a 125-112 victory, with the Grizzlies struggling to keep pace.
Ja Morant finished with just 16 points on an inefficient 6 of 19 shooting.
MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 32 points and eight assists.
