The New York Times suffered a major legal defeat Thursday after an Alabama jury found the newspaper liable for defaming former University of Alabama basketball player Kai Spears and awarded him $9.25 million in damages.
Spears was an 18-year-old freshman walk-on when a March 2023 Times article incorrectly reported that he had been present at the scene of a deadly shooting that killed 23-year-old Jamea Harris.
After a nine-day trial, an eight-person jury sided with Spears and concluded that the newspaper defamed him.
The verdict represents a rare loss for the Times, which acknowledged in its own reporting that it had not lost a US defamation case involving one of its articles in more than 50 years.
The disputed story was written by longtime Times sports reporter Billy Witz.
According to testimony, Witz relied heavily on an anonymous source who claimed Spears was in a vehicle with Alabama basketball star Brandon Miller at the scene of the January 2023 shooting.
That identification was wrong.
The Times later acknowledged that Spears had been misidentified and said the actual person was Cooper Lee, a student manager for the basketball team.
The newspaper did not fully correct the article until after Spears filed his federal defamation lawsuit.
In a June 2023 editor’s note, the Times said the original article had “misidentified” the person in Miller’s car and acknowledged that Spears was not at the scene.
“The Times regrets the error in the initial report,” the note stated.
At trial, Witz testified that his reporting relied in part on a source he viewed as highly credible because of that person’s access to case materials.
“I think the way I was looking at it, Source A, by their job title and by virtue of their access to the transcript, videos and impound photos, was somebody who knew a lot about this case,” Witz testified.
A second anonymous source was far less certain.
“I can tell you it’s a White guy on the basketball team, I just don’t remember his name,” that source reportedly told Witz.
Despite denials from Spears’ father and Alabama’s athletic director, the Times initially stood by the report before later reversing course.
Witz ultimately acknowledged the error while testifying, per Trending Politics.
“Yes, the story had a mistake, no question,” he said.
The jury’s $9.25 million award now leaves the Times facing a substantial judgment over its decision to publicly associate Spears with the scene of a homicide he was not present for.
The newspaper criticized the verdict and suggested an appeal could follow.
“We’re disappointed the jury found The Times liable for an honest mistake,” a spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The Times added that it believes “the verdict and award of damages are contrary to law and not supported by the evidence” and said it is reviewing its legal options.
For Spears, the verdict marks a significant legal victory more than three years after the inaccurate report tied his name to a deadly crime.
