Memphis Grizzlies star point guard Ja Morant took the stand Monday, Dec. 11, in the first day of a series of hearings where the NBA All-Star will have to prove he acted in self-defense during a July 2022 fight.

Morant, who is being sued by former St. George’s Independent School basketball player Joshua Holloway over the fight, could be granted immunity from being sued if he is successful. But he may not be out of the woods if that happens.

Rebecca Adelman, who represents Holloway, has argued that if Morant were to be granted immunity, it would be unconstitutional.

Follow the first day of hearings in Ja Morant lawsuit

The suit, originally filed by Holloway’s mother, was amended and filed again on his behalf in April after he turned 18. He was 17 at the time of the fight.

Morant, 24, who appeared in court for the first time since the suit was filed, showed up with friend Davonte Pack, who is also a defendant in the suit. 

They wore similar outfits Monday: black jackets, black pants and white shoes. 

Pack kept a mostly stoic expression as he sat in front of Holloway’s family, watching Morant’s testimony as well as Tee Morant’s, Ja Morant’s father.

Holloway’s mother, father and grandparents were all in attendance Monday.

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Although Pack is a defendant, Morant is the only one who has claimed self-defense and is, therefore, the only subject of the immunity hearings.

While many of the details surrounding the altercation between Morant and Holloway were already known, Morant, for the first time, demonstrated what occurred during the July 26 fight.

The fight, according to Morant, stemmed from a check-ball situation at the beginning of a pickup basketball game in which Morant, Holloway and others were participating at Morant’s parent’s house in Eads.

Stepping down from the witness stand, Morant demonstrated twice what occurred, once between him and his lawyer Keenan Carter and once between him and Adelman.

Standing in front of the jury box, which was occupied by members of the media during the Monday hearing, Adelman held a basketball and role-played as Holloway.

Based on what Holloway allegedly did that day, Morant instructed Adelman on what to do.

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He said Holloway placed the ball at his feet rather than passing it to him, which he considered disrespectful. 

They stood about 10 feet apart, and Adelman placed the ball on the floor between them.

Morant said he kicked it back with his foot, so he did the same to Adelman.

He then said Holloway rolled it back with his hand as other people on Morant’s team became frustrated because they wanted to get the game started.

Adelman rolled the ball back to Morant.

Morant said he kicked the ball up with his foot, caught it and chest passed it to Holloway. He then threw it to Adelman.

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He told her Holloway then threw the ball back with one hand, striking him in the face. 

Depositions from Chip Brunt and Alex Ndon-Blue, who were also playing with Morant and Holloway the day of the fight, say that Holloway chest-passed the ball back to Morant using two hands.

Adelman threw the ball at Morant, but unlike the day of the fight, he caught the ball — albeit ducking out of the way as he did so.

They repeated the exercise several times until they were at a similar speed to what occurred that day. 

After he was hit, Morant said he asked Holloway: “What you on?” with open hands and stepped toward him. He said he meant that as if to ask him what his problem was.

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He said at the same time, Holloway pulled his pants up and stepped toward him.

“He pulled up his shorts. Where I’m from, that’s fighting stance,” Morant said when he was questioned by Carter earlier in the day.

Morant said he and Holloway met near half-court and were shoulder to shoulder. 

Holloway then bumped him with his shoulder, stepped back and pulled up his pants again, Morant said

Morant then hit him, he said. 

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Morant said that Holloway took a step back and started coming toward him again, and that is when Pack hit Holloway.

Holloway fell to the ground, Pack grabbed Morant and others grabbed Holloway, Morant said.

Adelman also asked Morant to hit her to demonstrate the punch.

“Nah,” he said.

Earlier in the day, she played his Grizzlies highlights to demonstrate the force with which he scores.

“That is the force that came at Joshua Holloway, by the way,” she said.

Morant eventually demonstrated that he hit Holloway with a single, straight jab in the face.

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He told Adelman it was around 10 seconds from the time he was hit with the ball until they met shoulder-to-shoulder. 

She asked if he had any other options besides hitting him.

“You could have said this isn’t what we do here. Leave my property,” she said.

Morant agreed.

“But you didn’t do those things. You punched him,” Adelman said. 

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Attorneys air arguments in first day of hearings

Monday’s hearing was the first part of the immunity hearing that Morant was granted Nov. 16. 

Morant has claimed immunity from suit under Tennessee’s self-defense immunity statute, aka the “stand your ground law.”

Under the law, those who claim self-defense are entitled to an immunity hearing where they have to prove they acted in self-defense and, therefore, are immune from suit. 

Those suing them — in this case, Holloway — get to try to prove that they are still liable. 

Shelby County Circuit Court Division 2 Judge Carol Chumney will make the final ruling, which is why Adelman has argued it would be unconstitutional to grant Morant immunity. She has argued that it would strip Holloway of his right to a trial by jury, among other things. 

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In addition to Pack, the Morants and the Holloways, the courtroom was packed Monday with media and several attorneys.

In his opening statement, Will Perry, who also represents Morant, said that the case is about credibility and consistency.

He pointed out that Holloway has changed his version of events over time.

“Plaintiff tells a different, constantly evolving story. He stands alone,” Perry said.

He focused on the fact that Holloway has allegedly changed his story several times in statements made to law enforcement and in the original complaint filed and the amended complaint filed in the suit.

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Perry said Holloway originally claimed that Morant and Pack continued to hit him while he was on the ground.

Morant claims he only hit Holloway once.

Holloway also initially claimed he was also hit by Morant’s sister but later retracted the claims about her in the amended complaint, according to Perry.

Adelman, in her opening statement, said she agreed with Carter and Perry that the suit is about credibility. 

“It’s also about lack of accountability and lack of self-control,” she said. 

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Using the term “sports-fluenza,” she said that some well-known sports figures, like Morant, don’t suffer the consequences of their actions because of their status. 

“They are actually deprived of a valuable lesson. And that valuable lesson is that there are consequences for our actions,” she said

The hearings are set to continue Tuesday at 9 a.m. and Holloway is expected to testify.