Former NBA player Marcus Morris is back at home on Wednesday after spending more than two days behind bars related to a felony charge of fraud. But according to Morris, who wasted no time in taking to social media to explain his side of the story, the incident was more of a misunderstanding than a true case of fraud.
Morris was arrested on Sunday at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on felony fraud charges out of Nevada over allegations that he wrote $265,000 in bad checks to two separate casinos in Las Vegas to cover outstanding gambling markers.
On Tuesday morning, a hearing was held at Broward County in Florida, where Morris was denied bail pending his extradition to Nevada and issued an August 6 court date in regards to the two charges of fraud. However, according to a prosecuting attorney representing Florida, the state of Nevada was willing to dismiss the warrants for Morris if his debt was paid in full.
Marcus Morris says he did just that, according to a lengthy Instagram post from him on the matter on Wednesday where he went into detail about how he believed that the money he has spent in these casinos in Las Vegas over the years would have given him some leniency in regards to how long he took to pay back his debts from the gambling markers.
“Thank god I woke up in my bed this morning,” wrote Morris. “I will address this on camera as well. The word FRAUD was thrown on my name as if I took something or really wrote a check to a casino in exchange for cash. Did I take a marker to gamble? Yes. Was this the first time? No. I’ve been enjoying my off time in Vegas at a high level for years and that’s not just gambling. I really thought the amount of money and time I spent there would really have value.
“So yeah, I took my time to pay back the money that I could have been handled on the spot if I’d known that I would have been locked up like I was trying to flee or a flight risk. I was just in Vegas no phone call visit or nothing. Actually gambled and had mansions at both casinos. The key word I won’t accept is fraud because this has nothing to do with no money exchange or me not being able to pay something. My character means everything to me and my family as well.
“I would pay a thing to stay outta jail. Money paid back and lesson learned. FRAUD I can’t live with. But I’m not going on every social media site to clear everything up. Also having a millionaire brother in my corner doesn’t hurt either. Y’all be blessed man! Me and bro will be on a platform sometime soon, not to clear shit up but to explain what took place and what lessons was learned for the young athletes that watch and look up to us.”
It’s unclear whether this incident will impact Morris’ budding role at ESPN, where he has served as an NBA analyst for the network in recent months alongside his brother, Markieff Morris. But thankfully, it at least seems like the worst of the consequences from this incident are over for the time being for Marcus Morris, who described the rather rough conditions he endured in jail in the caption of his Instagram post.
“To sit for 51 hours no bail and not even a chance to pay it back till after 2 days go by was outta pocket,” wrote Morris. “24-hour lockdown, no food or water for the whole 51 hours. That’s the part that hurt me the most. I’ve put my time resources into every in my life but to be treated in that manner did something to me. I’ve been enjoying myself in Vegas for 10 years plus at a high level and not just gambling if you know us. So take it how you want it.”
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.