By Colin Flosi (@doncicandchong)

After criticism late Wednesday night following his comments regarding Jae Crowder, Marcus Morris asserts that his original statement was misunderstood, following a late-game scuffle that saw a handful of Memphis and New York players engage in fisticuffs following Crowder’s inbound steal late in the Grizzlies’ 127-106 win.

While many people thought that Morris’s remarks came off as misogynistic and lacking respect for women, the Knicks forward claimed that he was merely waxing poetic on Grizzlies wingman Jae Crowder.

A statement from Morris reads:

“Everything I said about Jae was just me, in the moment, trying to recognize and appreciate some of the more sincere aspects of him. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I thought, what better time to bring poetry to the court than now? I apologize sincerely if Jae or anybody took my comments the wrong way, but I don’t see how somebody being soft is insulting. My twin brother and I used to be known as the Moisturizing Morris’s—or the Morristurizers for short.”

Morris continued, “When I finally had time to head back to the locker room and focus entirely on the poem, I was able to complete it and I think that it turned out very well. Here you go.” Morris handed over a series of half-sheets with the poem printed on. It reads:

“His female tendencies,

Match his body flopping,

Head thrown back facing north,

He whips his hair,

Back and forth.

He is soft.

His game? Soft.

His hands? Soft with force.

But me?

My heart is coarse.

It is a man’s game and,

You tire of being played.

That step back 3 brick?

Much like Cupid’s arrow,

Aimed at me but missed.

Jae, oh so woman-like.

Don’t take it wrong,

And then get pissed.

You can’t buy a man like that,

But you CAN sell the Knicks.”

ADDITIONAL NOTE FROM MORRIS Via his Twitter page: “I will also be trying to release a limited edition set of Valentines related to the events that occurred between the Grizzlies and Knicks on January 29th to help offset the cost of any possible upcoming fines.”

“These valentines include but are not limited to:

“You make me drip like the Grizzlies showers, post-game…at least 3 drops”

“Every kiss begins with Kay, but Jae comes right before”

“My tendencies aren’t the only thing that are female uwu 😉”

“You make me feel like a Mudiay shove… I need to use two hands”

“Steal my heart like an inbound, but please shoot your shot better when you do””