Former Phoenix Suns forward Marcus Morris Sr. was arrested in Florida on July 27. He was charged with a felony fraud for writing a check with insufficient funds, according to sherrif.org.
His twin brother, Markieff Morris, slammed the “fraud” headlines and hinted there was more to the story than what was initially reported.
“The wording is crazy. Damn for that amount of money they’ll embarrass you in the airport with your family,” Markieff wrote on X. “They got y’all really thinking bro did some fraud (expletive). They could have come to the crib for all that. When y’all hear the real story on this … All I can say is Lesson learned.”
Yony Noy, the Morris twins’ business manager, came to Marcus’ defense and later clarified that the charges were gambling-related.
“Just so everyone understands this is zero fraud here or whatever crap outlets have said regarding fake checks or whatever the hell,” Noy wrote on X. “This is due to an outstanding marker with a casino. If you have over $1,200 they can issue a warrant for your arrest. Absolute insanity!”
According to Hofland and Tomsheck, Las Vegas criminal lawyers, a casino marker functions like a short-term loan from the casino.
“Patrons sign a promissory note agreeing to repay the marker within a designated time frame, typically 30 days. If the marker remains unpaid, the casino can convert the marker into a check and attempt to withdraw the funds directly from the patron’s bank account. If the withdrawal fails due to insufficient funds or a closed account, the casino can initiate criminal proceedings.
“In Nevada, unpaid casino markers are treated as “bad checks,” and failing to repay them can result in criminal charges.”
Marcus Morris Made History in Phoenix
Marcus Morris Sr. played for two-and-a-half seasons in Phoenix, averaging 10.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 23.3 minutes per game.
He and Markieff made history as the second twins to have played together for the same team in the NBA after Dick and Tom Van Arsdale, who also played together for the Suns during the 1976–77 season.
Marcus’s first career double-double also came with the Suns in a historic fashion. He had a then career-high 34 points and 12 rebounds in the Suns’ 100-93 win over the Utah Jazz on Feb. 6, 2015. He was the first Suns player since Danny Manning in 1997 to have logged a double-double off the bench.
Aside from the Suns, Morris played for the Houston Rockets, who drafted him 14th overall in 2011, Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers.
After hanging up his sneakers, he frequently appeared on ESPN’s morning sports shows “Get Up” and “First Take” in recent months.
Suns Add 2 Sneaky Additions
Getty Jordan Goodwin returns to the Phoenix Suns after getting waived by the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Suns made two roster moves after missing out on Chris Paul and Marcus Smart.
They claimed Jordan Goodwin off the waivers, then signed Jared Butler, an NCAA champion and the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player in 2021, to a non-guaranteed deal.
Goodwin previously played for the Suns during the 2023-24 season. He last played for the Los Angeles Lakers, who liked him so much. But the Lakers had to waive him to access their $5.2 million bi-annual exception to sign Smart.
The Suns got Goodwin as a consolation after Smart decided to join the Lakers.
On the other hand, Butler had a strong finish to last season with the injury-riddled Philadelphia 76ers. Butler averaged a career-best 11.5 points and 4.5 assists for the 76ers, who shut down their stars after the trade deadline.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Ex-Suns Forward Arrested—Twin Slams ‘Fraud’ Narrative appeared first on Heavy Sports.