Crimson Tide freshman Brandon Miller faced calls of “lock him up” chanted by South Carolina Gamecocks fans after he returned to the court since his involvement in a murder case involving a former teammate.
Video of the game seen on social media features cries of “lock him up!” as Gamecocks forward Josh Gray stood at the free throw line in the first half, according to the New York Post.
Crowd at South Carolina vs Alabama is rowdy early on. Don’t think Brandon Miller is gonna have an easy night pic.twitter.com/SDj41OAp7R
— Cooper Hird (@HirdItHereHoops) February 23, 2023
Miller was back on the court only a day after he delivered a gun to police that may have been used in a fatal shooting in Jan.
The player’s attorney claimed that Miller never handled the gun allegedly used in the murder of 23-year-old Jamea Jonae Harris, the AP reported.
“Brandon never touched the gun, was not involved in its exchange to Mr. Davis in any way, and never knew that illegal activity involving the gun would occur,” Miller’s attorney, Jim Standridge, said. “He had no knowledge of any intent to use any weapon,” he added.
School officials said that Miller has not been implicated in the crime.
“Based on all the information that we have received, Brandon Miller is not considered a suspect in this case, only a cooperative witness,” the university said in a Wednesday statement. “Today’s statement from Brandon’s lawyer adds additional context that the University considered as part of its review of the facts. Based on all the facts that we have gathered, Brandon remains an active member of the team.”
But Alabama head coach Nate Oats did not make matters any better when he blithely dismissed talk of Miller’s involvement in the incident by saying the player was merely in the “wrong spot at the wrong time.”
Oats later apologized for the comments, Yahoo Sports reported.
“I’m not here to make excuses, but I want to make it clear I didn’t have the details from the hearing that morning since I was coming straight from practice,” Oats said. “I used a poor choice of words, making it appear I wasn’t taking this tragic situation seriously, which we have throughout the course of it. I sincerely apologize for that.”
While prosecutors did not charge Miller, the same cannot be said for former players Darius Miles and another man, Michael Davi. Police say Miller gave the gun to Miles, but it was later used by Davi to shoot the victim.
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