MEMPHIS, Tenn. — There's a double standard when it comes to getting information from law enforcement when a big story hits, like the one on TMZ Monday that the Grizzlies' Ja Morant is being sued for allegedly assaulting a 17-year-old while playing basketball at Morant's house.
We had sources saying it was true, but we needed the actual incident report from the Shelby County Sheriff's Office.
For any other incident, you give them the address, which we did, of Morant's house in Eads. There's the basketball court in the backyard. You give them the date of the incident, which we did, July 26th, and usually, it's not a big deal.
At first, the sheriff's office sent us to the D.A.'s office, which of course, sent us back to the sheriff's office.
Even the D.A.'s office was more forthcoming, acknowledging it was aware of the incident, decided there was no basis for criminal charges and could not comment on a pending lawsuit.
Then Wednesday night, two hours after my emails asking why this case was being treated special, the sheriff's office responded by finally giving us the incident report number, blaming the delayed release because a minor was involved.
That may be, but my guess is the adult who was involved played more of a role.