ALABAMA BASKETBALL PLAYER WINS $9.25M DEFAMATION CASE AGAINST NEW YORK TIMES

An Alabama jury has awarded $9.25m in damages to Kai Spears, a former University of Alabama men's basketball player, after finding that the New York Times defamed him by incorrectly reporting that he was present at a fatal shooting in January 2023. The Times had cited an anonymous source in reporting that Spears was a passenger in a car involved in the incident, which killed Jamea Harris, a 23-year-old mother. The newspaper later acknowledged the error in an editor's note and corrected the story, revealing that a team manager, not Spears, had been in the vehicle.

Spears filed his lawsuit in 2023, claiming the inaccurate reporting caused him emotional distress and permanently linked him to the murder. Three other basketball players from the university were present at the shooting; the team manager in the car was not implicated or charged. The jury reached its verdict after a nine-day trial. The Times stated that it was "disappointed the jury found The Times liable for an honest mistake" and said the verdict was "contrary to law and not supported by the evidence," adding that it is reviewing its legal options.

According to the Times's own reporting on the verdict, the newspaper had not lost a defamation lawsuit brought in the United States over one of its articles in more than 50 years. Christian Spears, the plaintiff's father, told Patch that the family's original goal was "a simple retraction" but that the Times instead "defended its inaccurate article and continued to distort facts rather than acknowledge the harm they caused." Matt Glover, Spears's attorney, said he believed the verdict would "improve journalism throughout the country."