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Baxter Holmes, ESPN Senior Writer
Subpoenas have been issued for Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant and members of his family to appear and testify at an upcoming court hearing for a civil lawsuit in Memphis, according to court filings obtained by ESPN.
The lawsuit dates back more than a year and accuses Morant of assaulting a teenager during a pickup basketball game at Morant’s home outside Memphis in July 2022.
An immunity hearing is scheduled to begin Dec. 11 at the Shelby County Circuit Court in Memphis, where lawyers for Morant seeking to dismiss the case will argue that he was acting in self-defense for punching Joshua Holloway, then 17, after Holloway hit Morant in the chin with a basketball. The hearing is expected to last through Dec. 13 and potentially into the following week. A trial could begin in April 2024.
Morant has yet to testify in the case. He would be questioned under oath by his own attorney and cross-examined by Holloway’s attorney, Rebecca Adelman.
“On behalf of Joshua, we are preparing and will be ready for the hearing,” Adelman told ESPN.
The Grizzlies declined to comment. Morant’s attorneys didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
Morant’s testimony would come about a week before Morant is eligible to return to action for the Grizzlies on Dec. 19 after having completed his 25-game suspension by the NBA after a video emerged in May showing Morant flashing a handgun. That suspension followed an eight-game suspension last season when Morant was shown on video displaying a handgun at a Denver-area strip club in March.
Subpoenas were also issued for Morant’s close friend Davonte Pack; father, Tee; and mother, Jamie, to appear and testify at the hearing, along with other friends and witnesses who were present during the July 2022 altercation at Morant’s home.
Subpoenas were also issued for four members of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office who investigated the altercation.
Some of the subpoenas were issued to members of Morant’s close circle who have already been deposed in the case, including Tee Morant. (The subpoenas have not yet been served but are expected to be within a matter of days.)
Morant himself was scheduled to be deposed and answer questions about the matter under oath before a judge issued a stay in the case this summer after Morant’s attorneys sought to dismiss the case by trying to apply a “stand your ground” Tennessee state law.
Entering Friday’s game against the Mavericks in Dallas, the Grizzlies are 4-13.
Source: www.espn.com