BRISTOL, CT—Launching into a lengthy rant about the suspended Memphis Grizzlies point guard during an episode of First Take Thursday evening, ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith blasted Ja Morant for poor gun-handling fundamentals. “This was the sloppiest pistol work I’ve ever seen, plain and simple,” said Smith, zooming in on a still taken from an Instagram Live video of Morant holding a firearm, circling several incorrectly placed fingers, and disparaging his elbow and wrist form. “These young guys today have no clue—no clue—how you’re supposed to handle a gun, and what’s more, they barely even seem to care. It’s clear when you watch this that Ja doesn’t have full control over the piece, and he’s not wielding it as emphatically as he ought to, given the fun-seeming situation. Young kids are going to see him holding a gun in a video like this and think that’s how they’re supposed to hold their gun. You’d never see an NBA player in the ’90s hold a gun like that. Those guys had perfect gun-handling technique.” Smith then pulled a gun out from under his desk and asked First Take moderator Molly Qerim to remove her clothing, saying he wanted to personally demonstrate to Morant how one should handle a gun in a strip club.