The New York Times is standing by a report that Alabama’s Kai Spears was the fourth Crimson Tide player present at the scene when Jamea Harris was shot and killed near the university campus on January 15th, despite vehement denials by Spears and the university.
The Times claims surveillance footage shows Spears in the car with fellow Crimson Tide player Brandon Miller. Miller has admitted to bringing the gun used in the shooting to accused shooter Darius Miles, also an Alabama player, at Miles’s request.
However, Miller stipulates that Miles owned the gun and that he had no idea it was to be used in a shooting.
Miles is charged with capital murder. Miller has not been charged in connection with the incident.
Brandon Miller #24 of the Alabama Crimson Tide dribbles the ball against Jalen Jackson #4 of the Texas A&M-CC Islanders during the second half in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Legacy Arena at the BJCC on March 16, 2023, in Birmingham, Alabama. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
If the Times’ interpretation of the surveillance video is accurate, that will make Spears the fourth Alabama player present at the shooting scene: Darius Miles, Brandon Miller, Kai Spears, and freshman Jaden Bradley.
However, the newspaper’s interpretation of the video is hotly disputed by Spears, who, after initially declining to answer questions about his presence at the scene, issued a statement calling the report in the New York Times “100% inaccurate.”
“I have one thing to say – the report in the New York Times was 100% inaccurate, and the writer had complete disregard for the truth,” Spears wrote on Instagram. “I am trying to process and cope with these false statements that somehow have been published and then seen by so many. So thankful to Alabama Athletics for refuting it on my behalf.”
Alabama Athletic Director Greg Byrne also issued a statement accusing the Times of a “disregard of the facts.”
“Some inaccurate narratives have been reported about the involvement of Alabama student-athletes that display an unfortunate disregard of the facts,” the statement read. “We ask all to exercise careful due diligence before reporting on this sensitive situation.”
Alabama Crimson Tide athletic director Greg Byrne looks on prior to a college football game against the Mississippi Rebels on November 12, 2022, at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi. (Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Christian Spears, Kai Spears’ father and athletic director at Marshall University says the family is exploring all “legal options” in response to what he called “demonstrably false reporting” by the Times.
The New York Times told Fox News Digital it would not alter its reporting and stands by the claim that Spears was at the scene.
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