Jury awards ex-college basketball player $9.25M in New York Times defamation case
FILE-The New York Times Building's front entrance is shown in New York City. (Photo by Marcin Golba/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
A jury awarded $9.25 million in damages after finding that The New York Times slandered a former Alabama college basketball player by inaccurately reporting that he was at the scene of a deadly shooting in Tuscaloosa.
The jury delivered its verdict after a trial in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
A spokesperson told The Associated Press that The New York Times was reviewing its legal options after losing the defamation case.
What was the ex-Alabama basketball player-New York Times defamation case about?
Dig deeper:
In 2023, Kai Spears, who played for the University of Alabama men’s college basketball team, sued The New York Times after it published a report, referencing an individual familiar with the shooting investigation, that implied he was a passenger in a car linked to the incident.
RELATED: Alabama, Brandon Miller face renewed questions about deadly shooting
The New York Times reported that the person had spoken "on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters." Days later, the news outlet admitted its error in an editor's note and corrected the story.
On Jan. 15, 2023, Brandon Miller and fellow freshman Jaden Bradley were at the scene of the incident when 23-year-old Jamea Harris was shot and killed. The Associated Press reported that the players' then-teammate Darius Miles was charged with capital murder along with another man.
RELATED: Alabama basketball player Darius Miles charged with capital murder in deadly shooting
According to police testimony, Miller brought Miles’s gun to the scene. Miller’s lawyer said he was on his way to pick Miles up when Miles texted asking him to bring the gun. The lawyer, Jim Standridge, said Miller never handled the gun and didn’t know any criminal activity was planned.
The New York Times, citing an unidentified person, said a fourth player — freshman walk-on Kai Spears, who didn’t play during the 2023 season — was also at the scene of the shooting. The University of Alabama, Spears and his family called the report inaccurate and hired an attorney.
In The New York Times lawsuit, Spears alleged the news outlet’s inaccurate reporting had caused him emotional distress and forever connected him with a murder, the AP noted.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, which cites comments from a New York Times spokesperson about the lawsuit. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.