Ja Morant therefore joined a psychological support center in Florida following his extra-sporting setbacks. Dismissed from the Memphis group pending the results of the NBA investigation following his exit to a strip club with a firearm, the leader quickly explained “taking some time to get help and work on learning better ways to manage stress and my overall well-being”.
The subject of the mental health and psychological well-being of players has been totally overlooked for too long and must logically be taken seriously. There is no question of seeing it as a simple communication or smoke-out strategy on the part of the leader. But the question should not, however, overshadow the others.
And in particular that of the entourage of Ja Morant and this “gang atmosphere” in which he seemed to like so much. A situation reminiscent of that of Carmelo Anthony, as Andscape notes.
“I was charged with consuming weed. I got this drunk driving charge [en 2008]. The Stop Snitchin’ case. I argued with Larry Brown. That’s when Bron (James) became the hero and I became the villain.”
Drafted in 2003 after his NCAA title with Syracuse, “Melo” thus arrives in an extremely young Denver team. The Nuggets are thinking of bringing LaPhonso Ellis back to serve as their mentor, but in the end nothing will happen, and the winger will later regret not having had a veteran in the Rockies to introduce him to the NBA.
Because after a good rookie season alongside Andre Miller, Nene Hilario or Marcus Camby where he brought the Nuggets back to the playoffs, the troubles piled up for Carmelo Anthony from the summer of 2004. His Olympic campaign at the Athens Olympics was thus completely missed. Refusing to come back into play in the first match of the competition, lost by Team USA (92-73) against Puerto Rico, because his teammates had criticized his shots, he generally spent the rest of the campaign on the bench, Larry Brown even called him “selfish”.
Alone in his hotel room in Greece, the winger is depressed and his return to the United States is not simpler. In September 2004, his girlfriend La LA Vasquez was spat on by her ex-boyfriend, Sugar Ray, at a New York nightclub. Did Carmelo Anthony fight with Sugar Ray in stride? The basketball player denies it, but three men claim to have a video, and demand three million dollars from him not to broadcast it.
A month later, Carmelo Anthony boards the Nuggets plane with some marijuana on him. Denver police drop the charges as Melo assures the drugs aren’t his.
A few weeks later, he appeared on an underground DVD, Stop Snitchin’, in his hometown of Baltimore. This DVD “warns” anyone who would like to alert the police or act as informants against illegal activities, in particular the sale of drugs, taking place on the streets of the city.
“At that time, I really had to focus on basketball because a lot of things were going on”Carmelo Anthony explained to the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast last year. “I was charged with consuming weed. I got this drunk driving charge [en 2008]. The Stop Snitchin’ case. I argued with Larry Brown. That’s when Bron (James) became the hero and I became the villain. »
“Do you want to be on the streets or in the NBA? You’re rubbing shoulders with a corporation there. I know who you hang out with. I know who lives with you. I know when you close your eyes, when you wake up. I know what your friends are doing. Either you tell them to stop or you cut ties”
Faced with the sporting success of LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony was obviously looking for a different success.
“I have become a beloved villain. I had the love of the street. I had this philosophy of the neighborhood, of all the neighborhoods. I didn’t know how to be the hero but I knew how to be the villain. It was the only thing I knew growing up, but after four or five years in the league, I realized it could be taken away from me. »
In fact, it is David Stern who will take care of making him realize it. On December 16, 2006, Carmelo Anthony was involved in a big fight at Madison Square Garden. He will receive a 15-game suspension and a tough one-on-one with the NBA boss at the time, who makes him understand that he must change.
“Everyone had taken it for six or seven games. I go talk to him and ask him why he put me on such a suspension. He told me it was for my criminal record. ‘Do you want to be on the streets or in the NBA? You’re rubbing shoulders with a corporation there. You have to change. I know who you hang out with. I know who lives with you. I know when you close your eyes, when you wake up. I know what your friends are doing. Either you tell them to stop or you cut ties. And I was like, ‘Shit’. That’s when I knew the NBA was working with the Feds. He said to me: ‘I have to set an example with you. I know who does what.’ I understood. ‘If I give you 100 million dollars, then I have to know everything’. I didn’t understand that at the time. It took me a while to realize that it made sense. »
Carmelo Anthony then put his inner circle in order, with his mother and then-wife, La La Anthony, now more involved in protecting his day-to-day life. Friends referred to by David Stern had to leave his house. Marcus Camby, Kenyon Martin, Bryon Russell watched him closely, as did Dwayne Molyneaux, who was the liaison between the player and the Nuggets. Robert “Bay” Frazier, a relative from Baltimore, came to support him on a daily basis while Marni Colbert, Marcus Camby’s personal assistant, helped him manage his day-to-day affairs. A necessary major cleaning, and which Ja Morant will now also no doubt have to tackle.
