Powerade appears to be taking a step back from their partnership with NBA star Ja Morant after announcing a sponsorship deal at the worst possible time.
The sports drink company made the Memphis Grizzlies point guard the face of their brand, revealing the partnership in a pretty cool video. But their timing was quite ill-advised as Morant was in the news for flashing a gun on Instagram Live the same day.
Prior to that, new information came out in which it was revealed that police reports indicated that the player had been reported for assaulting a teenager and threatening him with a gun. In another incident, Morant was said to have made threats to security officers at a shopping mall.
That’s not all, though. Earlier this year, someone from Morant’s camp was accused of pointing a laser attached to a firearm at a member of the Indiana Pacers staff while sitting in the star’s vehicle.
Powerade would have done well to wait it out and see what happens but it’s never quite too late in such cases and it looks as if they’re cooling on the All-Star, at least for now.
As Megan Jon Fox has pointed out, the company has removed ads featuring Morant from its website while said commercial can no longer be viewed on Instagram.
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Powerade hasn’t offered an official statement pertaining to the status of its partnership with the guard but it’s likely his deal had clauses requiring proper on-court behavior, so he might be in danger of losing out on millions because of his decision to go live from what appears to be a strip club while toting a gun.
Meanwhile, the Grizzlies have announced that Morant’s suspension has been extended to at least four games following an initial two-game ban. There’s no word on when he might return to the team.
