Last March, the New York Times reported that Kai Spears, a freshman on the University of Alabama men’s basketball team, was present at the January shooting death of 23-year-old Jamea Harris.
Spears has denied the report since it was published and is now suing the newspaper.
The report said that Spears was at the scene of the fatal shooting along with her teammates. brandon miller, Darius Miles and Jaden Bradley. Michael Davis is alleged to have fired the fatal shot.
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Alabama guard Kai Spears (32) protests a foul against the Crimson Tide during a basketball game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Alabama Crimson Tide held at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee on Wednesday, February 15, 2023. (Kns Vols Bama Hoops)
The report placed Spears in Miller’s car when two bullets hit the windshield, a source told the Times.
Spears criticized the report, saying that it «was 100% inaccurate and that the writer did not take the truth into account.»
«I have one thing to say: The New York Times report was 100% inaccurate and the writer disregarded the truth,» Spears wrote in a statement. instagram post. «I am trying to process and deal with these false statements that have somehow been published and then seen by so many. I am very grateful to the Alabama Athletics for disproving them on my behalf.»
College Basketball: A general view of a basketball with the logo of Alabama vs. LSU during the game at Coleman Coliseum. Tuscaloosa, AL 01/14/2023 (Greg Nelson/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
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«I was not anywhere near the scene or the vicinity at the time it happened,» Spears told the Washington Post, who filed the lawsuit, on Wednesday. «I don’t think it’s a mistaken identity. I just think they didn’t do their due diligence.»
Alabama forward Brandon Miller brings the ball up court against Texas A&M Corpus Christi in the first half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament in Birmingham, Alabama, Thursday, March 16, 2023. . (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
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Miller was surrounded by controversy for the remainder of the season, as he was not charged with anything or punished by the school. Bradley was also not charged, while Miles and Davis were charged with capital murder.
Fox News’ Chantz Martin contributed to this report.