Jury says The New York Times defamed Alabama basketball player with incorrect story about shooting
Summary
A jury in Alabama decided that The New York Times defamed Kai Spears, a University of Alabama basketball player, by wrongly saying he was involved in a fatal shooting. The jury awarded Spears $9.25 million in damages after the newspaper admitted it made a mistake in its report.Key Facts
- The jury was made up of eight people and reached its verdict after a nine-day trial.
- The New York Times incorrectly reported that Kai Spears was in a car connected to a shooting that killed a 23-year-old woman.
- The Times based its report on an anonymous source but later corrected the story.
- Spears sued in 2023, saying the false report caused him emotional harm and wrongly linked him to a murder.
- The shooting happened in January 2023 and involved other basketball players from the University of Alabama.
- The Times stated it was disappointed with the verdict and planned to consider legal options.
- The newspaper said it had not lost a defamation lawsuit in the U.S. for over 50 years before this case.
Read the Full Article
This is a fact-based summary from The Actual News. Click below to read the complete story directly from the original source.
