The New York Times has been ordered to pay $9.25 million in damages after a federal jury ruled that the publication defamed former college basketball player Kai Spears by falsely linking him to a fatal 2023 shooting.
Following a nine-day trial in the US District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, an eight-person jury found in favor of Spears, who was an 18-year-old freshman walk-on at the University of Alabama when the report was published.
The lawsuit centered on a March 2023 article written by reporter Billy Witz, which incorrectly identified Spears as a passenger in a vehicle present at the scene of the January 2023 shooting that resulted in the death of 23-year-old Jamea Harris.
The publication noted that it had not lost a defamation suit in the United States in over 50 years. A spokesperson for the newspaper expressed disappointment with the decision, maintaining that the report was an honest mistake and stating that the organization is reviewing its legal options. Meanwhile, legal counsel for Spears stated that the verdict stands as a victory for accountability in reporting.
The newspaper did not issue a correction until June 2023, after Spears filed his lawsuit, eventually clarifying that the individual present at the scene was student manager Cooper Lee rather than Spears.
Spears previously addressed the impact of the false report, noting that he was nowhere near the scene and subsequently faced severe public harassment and online threats due to the inaccurate coverage.
After initially filing the lawsuit back in 2023, Spears said: ‘I was not anywhere near the scene or vicinity at the time that took place. I don’t think it is a mistaken identity. I just think they didn’t do their due diligence.
‘I had multiple threats from like Twitter and Instagram, people telling me to kill myself, people telling me I’m a murderer, we’re a team full of murderers. And they’re just kind of putting this false narrative out… I mean, I did nothing wrong.’
Spears had also put a statement out on Twitter saying: ‘The report in the New York Times was 100 percent inaccurate and the writer had complete disregard for the truth.
‘I am trying to process and cope with these false statements that somehow have been published and seen by so many. SO thankful to Alabama Athletics for refuting it on my behalf.
‘More than anything… I remain completely heartbroken by the tragic death that occurred that night.’