MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Mid-South mother who says her son was assaulted at Ja Morant’s home says she believes the case has been mishandled.

Myca Clay is the mother of Joshua Holloway, who investigators he was “jumped” by Ja Morant and another individual during a pickup basketball game at the NBA superstar’s home on July 26, 2022. Holloway was 17 at the time of the incident.

“What’s going through my mind is I cannot believe my son went to Ja Morant’s house and got beat up by two grown men,” Clay said.

Clay provided court records to WREG. Because those documents are under seal in the court, WREG was unable to independently verify them.

Clay says her son first met Morant a year before the incident through Morant’s sister and the basketball star grew fond of the young basketball player.

“Ja Morant wanted Joshua out there to play,” Clay said. “He thought that he was very competitive. And he did say that he saw something in Joshua’s future concerning basketball.”

Morant wanted to “invest in the Memphis community,” according to court documents, by hosting pickup basketball games at his family home and inviting “talented, local basketball players to join him for these games.”

Clay says her son had been invited to Morant’s home several times before the incident. She says he even gave her son a pair of shoes. But everything changed when she received a text from her son.

“He texted me and my daughter in a group and told us that he had been jumped by Ja Morant and his friend. And I texted him back, ‘Where are you?’,” Clay said.

An affidavit states Holloway sustained a hematoma to the scalp, sore jaw, and headaches in the area where he was struck. Body camera video from the Shelby County Sheriff’s office shows the teen explaining what happened.

He states during a very heated game, the ball fell on the ground. Morant kicked the ball to his legs. Holloway says he rolled it back.

“I roll it to his leg like that,” Holloway said in body camera footage. “Then he picked up the ball and threw it hard as he can straight at me. I caught it and threw it right back at him. Then puts the ball down, came up like this on me. He was like ‘Should I hit him? Should I hit him?’ I was like ‘Hit me’.”

Holloway tells deputies that’s when Morant punched him in the face. In an effort to protect himself, Holloway says he prepared to swing back, but someone else decided to join in.

“Then his friend came over there and hit me. Fell on the ground. And they just started jumping me,” Holloway said.

Holloway says after the fight was broken up, he was escorted off the property by Morant’s father. The teen also claims in a lawsuit Morant appeared to have “gestured toward a firearm on his hip.”

Morant also filed a lawsuit, claiming Holloway was the aggressor and that Holloway insinuated he would come back with a gun. Seven witnesses, who have signed sworn statements, have backed up Morant’s version of events.

One year later, Clay believes Morant received special treatment from Shelby County investigators. Body cam footage reveals deputies were hesitant to head to Morant’s home for a follow-up.

“You don’t want to go arrest Ja Morant?” one of the deputies states in the video.

“I mean, like, I’m all for it, but it’s a misdemeanor,” the other deputy says.

A deputy proceeds to call a sergeant for guidance, and he’s directed to carry on as normal.

“I do understand why you called me, and I’m very glad you did for other reasons,” the sergeant said.

It took nearly a year for an arrest warrant to be issued for Morant’s friend Davonte Pack. In a hearing, deputies say Pack admitted to hitting Holloway but didn’t feel threatened when he did so. Pack has since been charged with misdemeanor assault.

Despite the arrest, Clay still believes there’s another person that needs to be held accountable.

“But Ja Morant is a big superstar here in Memphis. So, you know, he brings to the city a lot of money. So I just feel that they protected him,” Clay said.

WREG reached out to Morant’s attorneys for comment, but they never responded. A spokesperson for the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office says the office does not comment on active criminal prosecution.

Pack is due back in court Friday morning.