Alabama refutes ‘inaccurate’ claims that a FOURTH student-athlete was present at scene of fatal shooting

The family of University of Alabama student and athlete Kai Spears slammed a New York Times report alleging the Crimson Tide guard was with Brandon Miller the night of a January 15 murder as “patently false.”

A New York Times report said Spears was in a car with Miller, who was hit by bullets in a shooting that killed the mother of 23-year-old Jamea Harris.

Up to this point, Spears had not been mentioned in the reports, with only Miller, guard Jaden Bradley, and former Alabama player Darius Miles being mentioned at the scene.

A spokesperson for both the family and the university denied that Spears was present with Miller during the shooting.

The New York Times article, dated March 15, 2023, identifying Kai as a fourth person at the scene of a shooting is demonstrably false, as we can show that Kai was not in the car or anywhere near the vicinity at that moment. question,’ attorney Stephen P. New said in a statement, on behalf of Spears and her family.

Jamea Harris (left), a 23-year-old mother, was shot to death near the University of Alabama campus on January 15. Crimson Tide forward Darius Miles (right) and another man, Michael Lynn Davis, were arrested and charged with capital murder in her death. Miles has since been kicked off the team.

Brandon Miller will look to deliver Alabama its first national basketball championship

“Irresponsible journalism has hurt Kai and her family, as well as the University of Alabama and Marshall University (where Spears’ father is the Athletic Director). I contacted the general counsel of the New York Times, with no response.

As you can imagine, the Spears family has been incredibly shocked by this damaging and false article, as is clear from Mr. Spears’ own words:

“I am furious about the completely wrong articles placing my son in the car at the scene. It is absolutely false; Kai was not there,” Christian Spears said in the statement. ‘I am grateful to the people who are supporting our family. We must all hold irresponsible journalists and their publications accountable.’

‘[NYT] the story is inaccurate’, a The AU spokesman told AL.com in a sentence.

“According to the information we have, there were no student-athletes present at the scene other than Brandon Miller and Jaden Bradley, who are fully cooperative witnesses.

“From the beginning, UA Athletics has fully cooperated with law enforcement and supported their investigation.”

Spears himself declined to give an elaborate response to the Times, simply saying, “I’m sorry, I’m not going to be able to talk about it.”

Miles and another man, Michael Lynn Davis, have been arrested and charged with capital murder charges in Harris’ death. Miles has since been kicked off the Alabama team.

Miller allegedly brought a gun to Miles that night that was later used by Davis in the fatal shooting, according to police testimony.

Stephen P. New issued a statement on behalf of the Spears family, criticizing the reports

An attorney for Kai Spears and her family issued a statement rebuking the NYT article.

Miles was originally dropped off at the scene by Miller, who did not stay because the line at a local club, Twelve25, was too long, according to testimony at a hearing.

Paula Whitley, Tuscaloosa’s deputy district manager, declined to tell AL.com last month why Miller was not charged, saying, “That’s not a question I can answer.” There is nothing we can accuse him of.

He continued to play and star for the Tide this season. Miller first reacted publicly to the shooting on March 8.

“This whole situation is really heartbreaking, but respectfully that’s all I’m going to be able to say about it,” Miller said.

Despite the controversy, Miller has continued to play for the Crimson Tide, scoring 23 points in Alabama’s 82-63 win over Texas A&M in Sunday’s SEC title game. As a result, the Crimson Tide earned the #1 seed for the next NCAA Tournament.