Marcus and Markieff Morris were acquitted of aggravated assault today, more than two years after they were first charged with helping to beat up a former acquaintance outside a high school basketball game.
Marcus, who plays for the Celtics, and Markieff, who plays for the Wizards, were accused of working with three other people to beat up 36-year-old Erik Hood outside a Phoenix high school tournament in January 2015. (Both brothers played for the Suns at the time.) They were found not guilty on all counts, as was a third person, their childhood friend Gerald Bowman. Two other men have already pled guilty to the beating.
Hood’s lawyer argued that the Morris twins beat up his client due to a grudge over a text message in which Hood made what was interpreted as a sexual comment about their mother. The twins’ lawyer countered that Hood had falsely accused the pair only to try cashing in on a payout with plans to later file an additional lawsuit against them.