No, but for real, what is you doing?

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As I type this, I am high enough to eat stars as Raji said to me once. Today’s strain is Sour Cherry, which is a blend of Sour Diesel and Cherry Pie. It’s very good. it puts me in creative mode.

“My nigga, what is you doin?”

NBA star Ja Morant is currently walking around with too much dip on his chip. He’s been trending on Twitter because of it, and while the rest of us are horrified that this young man is potentially fumbling his bag by being a studio gangster, if he is aware of the fact that he’s trending, he likely thinks it a good thing and adding to his cred.

Ja Morant is high on his own supply.

In case you missed it, Ja went live on Instagram showing himself inside a strip club. For no good reason, he then brandished a gun on camera. The NBA caught wind of the video, which he subsequently deleted, but it was too little too late. The NBA has suspended him for at least two games, and in his apology, Ja announced he would be taking some time off to “get help and work on learning better methods of dealing with stress and my overall well-being,” according to CNN.

He also deactivated both his Twitter and Instagram accounts.

It has since been reported that Colorado police are investigating whether or not he broke any laws:

Colorado is an open-carry state, although there are exceptions to the law, including the carrying of a firearm on federal property. It is illegal in Colorado to possess a firearm while under the influence of alcohol.

NBA rules prohibit a player from possessing a firearm while on team property or traveling on team business. In the video livestreamed by Morant, it is not clear whether he is intoxicated, but others are shown drinking.

Capt. Jamie Dillon told The Associated Press that police did not receive any calls or complaints about Morant’s actions but began looking into the matter Saturday after learning about the video circulating online.

USA Today reports NBA Commissioner Adam Silver “has the power to suspend Morant for a definite or indefinite amount of time” as well as impose a fine of no more than $50,000.

Morant is potentially in violation of this clause in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (p. 142)

“Whenever a player is physically present at a facility or venue owned, operated, or being used by a Team, the NBA, or any League-related entity, and whenever a player is traveling on any NBA-related business, whether on behalf of the player’s Team, the NBA, or any League-related entity, such player shall not possess a firearm of any kind or any other deadly weapon. For purposes of the foregoing, “a facility or venue” includes, but is not limited to: an arena; a practice facility; a Team or League office or facility; an All-Star or NBA Playoff venue; and the site of a promotional or charitable appearance.”

All of this is entirely too goofy for me.

The need to be a “thug” for sport is so weird to me. Is he seriously willing to fumble the bag over “keeping it real”? And let’s acknowledge that “real” is doing a lot in the previous sentence.

Someone on Twitter had the perfect summation of this situation:

The discussion is not “did he have a permit,” or “Is it a legally registered firearm?” The conversation is about “My nigga, what is you doin?” And that is a much more nuanced conversation than the latter. It’s about context. It’s about applying Risk analysis to your actions.

I keep seeing people say “Ja just made a mistake,” and as I said on Twitter late last night, putting a cup of salt in your cake batter is a mistake. Getting on the team plane with a gun (which is against the rules) and then brandishing said gun on Instagram is an active choice. A poor choice to be sure, but a choice nonetheless.

Calling it a “mistake” takes away his accountability for what he did. He knew what he was doing, and he knew why he did it, and now he has to face the consequences of his choices.

Anyway

Today has been one of those days of just creating, smoking, and listening to music

De La Soul has been my soundtrack of choice today as I have been listening to Stakes Is High on repeat since this morning.

I am so happy their catalog is available on streaming now. I haven’t listened to anything else but De La Soul since Friday, and I am OK with that.

This is the D.A.I.S.Y. Age. Again.