Former Alabama player Kai Spears wins $9.25M from NY Times defamation casehttps://www.tuscaloosanews.com/story/sports/college/2026/08/21/kai-spears-wins-9-25m-defamation-verdict-against-new-york-times/91402335007/An Alabama jury has awarded former Alabama basketball player Kai Spears $9.25 million after finding The New York Times defamed him by incorrectly linking him to the 2023 killing of Jamea Harris in Tuscaloosa.
The eight-person federal jury reached its verdict Thursday following a nine-day trial.
Spears sued the Times in 2023 after the newspaper reported that he was a passenger in a vehicle involved in the shooting.
The report was wrong. The passenger was an Alabama basketball team member, not Spears.
The Times later corrected the story and acknowledged the error.
Setting my antipathy for the NYT on the shelf, this case is somewhat of a close call:
* The NYT corrected their error, though two months later and
after Spears sued;
* The NYT published a single annoymorous claim, following publish now, correct later, "journalism"; Spears was - and still is - exposed to attack by persons angered by shooting who do not know - or care - that the NYT's initial report was wrong; if MSM outlets won't stop their publish now, correct later, "journalism" of their own accord - you know, honesty - it needs to become very expensive from cases like this.
Because this case is an example of a
pattern of carelessness and dishonesty, I hope the NYT loses and loses lots of $$ in the process of losing.
