The New York Times has corrected a months-old article to say Alabama basketball player Kai Spears was not in a car with Brandon Miller at the scene of a deadly shooting, two days after the player filed a defamation lawsuit against the newspaper.
The Times announced the decision with a new article on Friday in which it reported that Alabama basketball manager Cooper Lee acknowledged he was in the car with Miller, not Spears.
In light of that revelation, Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha said the article would be corrected:
“We have a longstanding policy of correcting errors,” she said in a statement. “Based on information in the affidavit and new reporting by our newsroom, we believe our original story was not accurate and plan to append an editor’s note to the story.”
The correction reportedly came due to a revelation made in Spears' lawsuit for defamation and invasion of privacy. The lawsuit claimed Lee had gotten into Miller's car minutes before the shooting on Jan. 15, leading to the Times confirming his involvement through email.
What happened with The New York Times and Alabama's Kai Spears?
In the Times' original article by reporter Billy Witz published on March 15, Spears was reported to have been in the car as it was hit by bullets at the scene of the shooting in Tuscaloosa.
The incident resulted in the death of 23-year-old Jamea Harris and capital murder charges for former Alabama basketball player Darius Miles and his friend Michael Davis. Miller has not been charged with a crime and saw no discipline from Alabama, but his involvement dominated coverage of the Crimson Tide's season and still hangs over his head as he prepares for the 2023 NBA Draft, where he is projected to be a top 3 pick.
In its reporting of Spears' alleged involvement, the Times anonymously cited "a person familiar with the case identified that person as Spears."
Spears declined comment to the Times before publication, but his father, Marshall athletic director Christian Spears, released a statement a day later calling the reporting "irresponsible and demonstrably false" and suggesting the family would pursue legal action. Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne also released a statement calling the report "inaccurate."
The Times added the objections to their article, but didn't correct it, telling AL.com "We’re confident in our reporting and stand by it.”
The legal action arrived Wednesday, when Spears filed a lawsuit against the Times seeking "in excess of $75,000" in compensatory and punitive damages, with a pledge to use the proceeds of any court award to pay for school for Harris' 5-year-old son. Spears claimed he “has experienced severe emotional distress as his life has been disrupted by the untrue statements linking him to a criminal event” and said the Times report “will forever label him as a person associated with a murder.”
The lawsuit also included a sworn affidavit from a high school friend of Spears' and exchanges on FaceTime to show Spears wasn't present. Instead, Spears reportedly said he was at a barbecue restaurant with Miller and two friends when Miller asked them if they wanted to stay out. The other three declined and went home, while Miller got into a car with Lee.
After checking with Lee, the Times was no longer confident in its reporting.
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New York Times corrects story to say Alabama basketball player wasn't at deadly shooting after lawsuit - Yahoo Sports
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