The New York Times has not lost a defamation case in more than 50 years. That streak crumbled when an Alabama jury said on Thursday that the newspaper defamed a former college basketball player when it erroneously reported he was at the scene of a fatal shooting.
The lawsuit centered on a March 2023 report the newspaper published that was written by journalist Billy Witz. An archived version of the story claimed that Kai Spears was at the scene of a Tuscaloosa shooting in January 2023 that involved a now-former University of Alabama basketball player.
Spears sued the publication May 30, 2023, after several attempts to get his name removed were unsuccessful. The story was updated on June 2 that year to remove Spears from the scene. Spears’ lawyers noted that the March updates contained false information about the player despite attempts to correct the story, according to a court filing.
“While a jury could find actual malice at the time of the original publication based on any number of factors, including a grossly inadequate investigation, they could also easily find that The Times had serious doubts by the time it published the information again the third time,” according to court papers.
A jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama awarded Spears $9.25 million in damages, The Times reported Friday. It’s the first defamation lawsuit in decades the publication has lost.
The Times’ lawyers referred to Straight Arrow’s request for comment to Charlie Stadtlander, its executive director of media relations. Stadtlander wrote that the paper is “disappointed the jury found The Times liable for an honest mistake.”
“We thank the jury for its service, but believe the verdict and award of damages are contrary to law and not supported by the evidence,” he said.
It’s unclear if Witz is still employed at the publication. Stadtlander didn’t immediately respond to a follow-up email regarding Witz and the publication’s process for vetting correction requests. Witz’s most recent story published on July 6. It covered the U.S. Soccer fans’ responses to President Donald Trump intervening on FIFA’s decision to suspend a player.
The 174-year-old newspaper has been accused of defamation, most notably in the 1964 U.S. Supreme Court case New York Times v. Sullivan, where justices ruled that freedom of speech limits legal claims public officials can make against people for defamation.
In defamation lawsuits, private citizens must prove that a news organization operated negligently in reporting, according to ProJourn, a pro bono legal service for journalists.
Article falsely placed player at shooting
According to the archived version of The Times’ story about the January 2023 shooting, it relied on an anonymous source who said that Spears was at the scene of the shooting. The story was updated a day later, still placing Spears at the scene but included a quote from the university’s athletics department that denied the player’s presence.
Spears wrote in the lawsuit that Witz said the story would run as-is unless the player and his father granted Witz an interview. The two had previously either denied Witz’s interview requests or refused to comment.
According to the lawsuit, Spears and other Alabama players were instructed not to comment on the shooting, which he told Witz.
“When Christian Spears, on behalf of himself and his son, refused to give Witz the interview he wanted, Defendant New York Times ran the story despite its serious doubts as to the accuracy of the allegations concerning Spears,” according to court papers.
The publication didn’t correct its story until June 2 that year. An editor’s note said that Spears was “erroneously identified” as the person in the car when the shooting took place.
Lawyers for The New York Times said during the jury trial that the story wasn’t defamation since it didn’t implicate Spears’ involvement in the shooting, the publication reported. It added that Witz tried to corroborate the anonymous source’s tip, including speaking to Spears in person.
Witz allegedly apologized to Spears during the trial. The publication’s lawyer, Michael Bell, said Witz and the newspaper published the story after verifying the source’s information. He called it an “honest mistake.”
Spears’ lawyer accused Witz of intentionally publishing a “sensational” scoop.
A former player awaits trial
The incident at the center of the defamation case is the fatal shooting of Jamea Harris, 23, in Tuscaloosa. The newspaper reported that the night unfolded, involving now-former Alabama basketball player Darius Miles and his childhood friend Michael Davis.
A March 9 ESPN report reviewed several court documents and interviewed family members to learn the shooting started after Davis got into an altercation with Harris’ boyfriend. Neither party knew each other.
Miles was accused of providing Davis with the gun used in the shooting. He faces a capital murder charge and is still awaiting trial, according to a local ABC affiliate in Birmingham, Alabama.
Witz placed Spears at the scene of the shooting, asserting he was in teammate Brandon Miller’s car. Spears’ lawsuit admitted that Jaden Bradley was with Miller that night. Spears returned to his dorm early with friends due to travel the next morning.
Miller nor Bradley was charged in the shooting. Police gave conflicting information about Miller’s involvement, but ESPN reported that the Tuscaloosa chief district attorney declined to charge Miller.
Davis is serving a lifelong prison sentence without parole for capital murder.
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