The streak is over. For the first time in more than 50 years, The New York Times has lost a defamation suit. In a 2023 report by Times sports writer Billy Witz, the newspaper claimed Kai Spears, then an 18-year-old freshman basketball player for the University of Alabama, was falsely linked to the scene of a fatal shooting of 23-year-old Jamea Harris.
After a nine-day trial, an Alabama jury ruled that the newspaper owned Spears $9.25 million in damages for getting this egregiously wrong.
The Times issued a lengthy editor's note to the report in June 2023, but only after Spears filed the defamation lawsuit at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
"The original version of this article, published March 15, misidentified the person who was in the car with [Crimson Tide star player] Brandon Miller when the shooting occurred," the note began.
"Based on information from a person familiar with the case, the article erroneously identified that person as Kai Spears, a freshman basketball player. After the article was initially published, Alabama’s athletic director and Spears’s father denied that Spears was present. The Times included those responses and reviewed its reporting, but did not conclude that any other change to the article was warranted at that time.”
Witz, who began his career at The Times in 2008, relied on a single anonymous source who claimed Spears was at the site of the shooting. Witz testified the source was a "high-level person, professional." A separate anonymous source told Witz, "I can tell you it's a white guy on the basketball team, I just don't remember his name," according to Witz's testimony.
Does that sound like a story you should publish? Or was it only Half Witz?
Spears transferred from Alabama after the 2023-24 season and spent two seasons at Marshall. He’s now a senior playing at West Liberty University in West Virginia. In his lawsuit, Spears argued the false Times report caused emotional distress and permanently associated his name with a murder investigation.
His attorney, Matt Glover, said the family was pleased with the verdict and hoped it would encourage greater accuracy in journalism.
A spokesman for The Times told Fox News Digital: "We’re disappointed the jury found The Times liable for an honest mistake," and that they believe "the verdict and award of damages are contrary to law and not supported by the evidence." It's obvious that it's The Times that was unsupported by the evidence in this mess.
