Judge dismisses lawsuit filed against NBA player Ja Morant over a fight during a pickup game

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Judge dismisses lawsuit filed against NBA player Ja Morant over a fight during a pickup game

2025-04-24 06:15 Last Updated At：06:21

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a teenager who accused two-time NBA All-Star Ja Morant of punching him during a pickup game at the home of the Memphis Grizzlies guard’s parents in 2022.

Shelby County Circuit Judge Carol Chumney issued an order Monday dismissing the lawsuit, saying in her ruling that Morant acted in self-defense and was immune from civil liability in the suit filed by Joshua Holloway, who plays basketball for Samford University and just completed his sophomore season.

Holloway was 17 and in high school when he was invited to play pickup basketball with other people at the home of Morant's parents in July 2022. The daylong series of games ended when Morant punched Holloway once in the face. Holloway then sued Morant, alleging the NBA player had assaulted him.

Morant claimed he acted in self-defense after Holloway aggressively threw the basketball at him with a one-handed, baseball-style pass that hit him in the face during a check-ball situation. A “check” is a common practice in pickup games in which two opposing players pass the ball to each other to see if their teammates are ready, often before starting a game or after a foul.

Morant testified during a December 2023 hearing that he was worried about getting hurt after the teen hit him in the face with the ball, bumped him in the chest, balled his fists and got into a fighting stance before Morant punched Holloway.

Chumney ruled in April 2024 that Morant “enjoys a presumption of civil immunity” from liability under Tennessee law.

The NBA player’s lawyers had argued Morant was protected under Tennessee’s “stand your ground” law, allowing people who feel threatened at their homes to act with force in certain situations. The law is used in criminal cases, but the judge cleared the way for Morant’s lawyers to apply it in this civil case.

After the April 2024 presumption of immunity ruling, it was Holloway's turn to prove that Morant was not free from liability under the self-defense claim. Holloway testified during a hearing this past January that Morant was actually the aggressor and used disproportionate force by punching Holloway.

In her Monday ruling, Chumney said Holloway's testimony about the incident was not credible and contradicts testimony from other witnesses. Among those was former NBA player Mike Miller, who was at the house when the fight occurred. Miller testified that Holloway hitting Morant “in the face with a basketball ‘kind of started everything,’” the judge wrote in her April 2024 ruling.

Chumney also noted in Monday's ruling that both Morant and Holloway hold roles as leaders in the respective basketball arenas, “and in the limelight, each have unique opportunities to inspire youth and demonstrate mature leadership.”

“This Court sincerely hopes that moving forward they each will be able to spend more of their time on the ‘court’ and less at the ‘courthouse,’” the judge wrote.

England ends 18-match winless streak in Australia with 4-wicket victory in the 4th Ashes test

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — England ended an 18-match winless streak in Australia and beat the home side by four wickets in the fourth Ashes test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday.

England lost each of the first three tests to allow Australia to retain the Ashes in just 11 days of on-field action at Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide.

But England returned the favor by winning the MCG test Saturday inside two days, similar to Australia's opening win at Perth.

It was the first time the same series has had multiple two-day tests in 129 years.

The England winless streak had dated to the 2013-14 Ashes series, which Australia won 5-0. Since England convincingly won the 2010-11 Ashes 3-1, England had lost 16 matches and drawn the other two of their 18 tests Down Under over a period of nearly 15 years.

Needing 175 second-innings runs to win and 98 after the tea break, England reached its target at 178-6 to clinch the match and send thousands of its long-suffering but faithful “Barmy Army” fans into frenzied celebration.

England raced to 70-2 off the first 10 overs in its second innings, losing the wickets of Ben Duckett (34) and Brydon Carse (6). Scott Boland removed Zak Crawley (37) and Jacob Bethell (40), who both made valuable contributions.

Joe Root (15) and captain Ben Stokes (2) fell cheaply before Jamie Smith and Harry Brook guided the visiting side to a morale-boosting win ahead of the fifth and final test beginning Jan. 4 in Sydney.

Earlier Saturday, England bowled out Australia out for 132 in its second innings after lunch on Day 2. On an MCG pitch offering substantial sideways movement for pace bowlers, England successfully chased down a target of 175 to win after 30 wickets had fallen in 4 1-2 sessions.

The dismissal of opener Travis Head (46) was quickly followed by the departures of Usman Khawaja (0) and Alex Carey (4) in the next two overs as Australia slumped from 82-3 to 88-6 in the morning session.

Ben Stokes (3-24) claimed the important wicket of Cameron Green (19) after lunch, caught at second slip, and Brydon Carse sliced through the tail to finish with 4-34.

Australia held an overall lead of 46 Friday after scoring 152, running through England for 110 in a dramatic first day

Josh Tongue, named player of the match, claimed a career-best 5-45 to lead England’s bowling attack Friday before Michael Neser grabbed 4-45 for Australia.

Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg said Saturday “short tests are bad for business," and said CA would consider a closer role in pitch preparation in the future.

“Historically we have taken a hands-off approach in all of our wicket preparation and allowed the staff and the conditions and those characteristics to be presented,” Greenberg told SEN Radio. ”But it’s hard not to get more involved when you see the impact on the sport, particularly commercially."

The attendance at the MCG on Saturday was 92,045, the second-highest test crowd in Australia, only behind Friday's opening-day crowd of 94,199.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket