Skip Bayless believes Ja Morant’s cryptic Instagram posts from Wednesday morning, which were quickly deleted, are “a cry for help” as they came 11 days after the Grizzlies star was filmed on Instagram Live holding a gun for the second time in less than three months.
During Wednesday’s installment of FS1’s “Undisputed,” the host said his good friend, rapper Lil Wayne, asked to connect him with Morant after the Grizzlies star shared concerning messages on his Instagram Story, including one that just said, “bye.”
“When I first saw this earlier this morning, it stopped me in my tracks,” Bayless said of Morant’s reported posts, which included photos of his family.
“Because — to your point [co-host Shannon Sharpe] — we take this very seriously. Was this a cry for help? I don’t know for sure, but it felt like it. In the context of what’s happening, it certainly could be.”
The photos, which have since been deleted, were circulated on social media.
Later Wednesday, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office in Tennessee sent police to Morant’s home for a welfare check, with a spokesperson telling TMZ Sports that the 23-year-old NBA All-Star “is fine.”
The sheriff’s office could not confirm TMZ’s reporting when reached by The Post.
“Normally, people don’t get on IG and say, ‘Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad. Love you, Mom. Love you, Dad,’ and then show himself walking away,” Sharpe said, referring to Morant’s reported messages.
Bayless went on to say that Lil Wayne tried to reach out to Morant and never heard back.
“Lil Wayne said, ‘I speak from experience because I made a mistake and I wound up on Rikers Island in prison for a while,’” Bayless said. “So he said, ‘I wanted to talk to Ja about that.’”
Sharpe also said he’d like to sit down and talk with Morant.
Skip Bayless on FS1’s “Undisputed” on May 24, 2023. Twitter/Undisputed
Ja Morant appeared to hold a firearm in an Instagram Live video in May 2023. Bayless went on to say that he believes Morant can turn things around.
“I’m gonna say it one more time: there’s good in this kid. There’s good,” he said. “He turned his game around and won Most Improved Player.
“You can also then say, ‘Can you turn your life back around?’ Sure, you could. But you gotta commit.”
Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant attends Saturday Nights at Sound Nightclub on May 6, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. NBAE via Getty ImagesMorant was suspended by the Grizzlies after he appeared on a friend’s Instagram Live video holding a gun in a car on May 13.
He reportedly faces a lengthy suspension as the NBA investigates the incident.
It came after Morant was seen with a gun in a separate Instagram Live on March 4 at the Shotgun Willie’s strip club in Glendale, Colo. after a Grizzlies loss to the Nuggets in Denver.
A separate NBA investigation found that he was intoxicated at the time.
Ja Morant holding a firearm in an Instagram Live video in March 2023. Twitter DJ Akademiks @AkademiksLast Tuesday, Morant released an apology following the second video, which some believed was written by ChatGPT.
Bayless and Sharpe also discussed that on a separate episode of “Undisputed.”
“I know I’ve disappointed a lot of people who have supported me,” Morant said in a statement, via ESPN. “This is a journey and I recognize there is more work to do.
“My words may not mean much right now, but I take full accountability for my actions. I’m committed to continuing to work on myself.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he was “shocked” after seeing the second video.
“We’re in the process of investigating it and we’ll figure out exactly what happened as best as we can,” Silver told Malika Andrews during ESPN’s Draft Lottery show last Tuesday.
“The video’s a bit grainy and all that, but I’m assuming the worst. We’ll figure out exactly what happened there.”
Following the first gun incident in March, Morant flew to New York to meet with Silver, who handed him an eight-game suspension without pay.
That same month, Morant attended a short counseling program in Florida, and was reinstated shortly after.
Morant signed a five-year rookie maximum extension with the Grizzlies worth up to $231 million in 2022.
