New York Times Loses First Defamation Suit in 50 Years

The New York Times lost its first defamation suit in more than 50 years when a jury found it had defamed a former college basketball star. In 2023, the Times wrongly reported that Kai Spears, who played for the University of Alabama men’s basketball team, was in a car with teammates at the scene of a shooting where a 23-year-old mother died. A teammate was charged with murder and awaits trial. The reporter relied on a single anonymous source to place Spears at the scene. After publication, Spears’ father denied his son was present, and the article was updated with his denials. However, two months later, Spears sued, complaining that he would forever be linked with a murder. The article was corrected, and the reporter even apologized to Spears in court. On Thursday, the jury awarded Spears $9.25 million in damages. This followed a nine-day trial in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. Spears’ lawyer told the jury in his closing argument that they had “the opportunity today to change the way journalism works at The New York Times.” “There was a mistake, an honest mistake,” Michael Bell, a lawyer for the paper, argued. After the verdict, Spears posted a Bible verse from James 1‬:‭17‬ on Instagram: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

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