The Tide starts a four-game race to SEC Championship...
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| Brandon Miller is the SEC's best player. |
Nate Oats takes his 2nd-ranked Crimson Tide on the first of four games that will determine the SEC regular season championship. Last night, Texas A&M beat Tennessee 68-63 on 28-34 free throws. The Vols made 10-14 attempts. Alabama remains one game ahead of the Aggies and Alabama may clash with them for the SEC regular season championship in the final game of the season.
South Carolina is enduring a miserable season. Their record is 10-17 and only 3-11 in the conference. The Tide is a 17 1/2-point favorite to win to their 14th SEC game. Carolina is in a three-game race with LSU and Ole Miss to finish last in the Conference. On paper, it appears that South Carolina has no chance of beating the Tide. Since losing to Tennessee, the Tide has looked unbeatable. A road game is a tough place in the SEC, and anything is possible.
But Alabama has more trouble than beating South Carolina tonight. I have included the Sports Illustrated article that has garnered much attention in Tuscaloosa. I am not offering this as my belief that certain Alabama players will be charged along with Darius Miles and his friend. Clearly, this is a horrible situation, and I hope that all college players and coaches learn something.
In the early morning of Jan. 15, a wild shootout erupted in front of a popular string of bars in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, just steps from Alabama’s campus. At least eight shots rang out, two vehicles were hit and a 23-year-old mother named Jamea Harris was killed.
Later that day an Alabama basketball player, Darius Miles, and his longtime friend from back in Maryland, Michael Lynn Davis, were arrested for the killing. It was a sad and tragic story all around.
On Tuesday, it got even worse. At a hearing for Miles and Davis, more details emerged, including the presence at the scene of two additional Alabama players, Jaden Bradley and Brandon Miller.
Miller is Alabama's leading scorer, a National Player of the Year candidate and potential NBA lottery pick for the second-ranked Crimson Tide. According to a Tuscaloosa detective, he is also someone who received a text from Miles that night requesting that Miller drive over to The Strip, a collection of bars and restaurants, and bring Miles’ gun with him.
Miller complied, according to AL.com reporting from the courthouse. He'd previously tried to go to a bar there, Twelve25 Sports Bar, with Miles and Davis but left because the line was too long.
On the return trip, police allege Miller parked his car in a manner that blocked the Jeep that Harris, her boyfriend and a cousin, who is a U of A student, were in. Bradley also allegedly parked his car in that manner.
Earlier, there had been a dispute between the parties that centered on Harris not being interested in talking with Davis, who allegedly told officers he was so drunk on tequila he doesn’t recall a thing. An argument ensued — “It got a little elevated,” Det. Branden Culpepper testified, according to AL.com.
It was about to get even more elevated. When Miller arrived, Miles and Davis got in his car, according to testimony. It was there Miles took the gun and then handed it to Davis, telling him, "There’s one in the head,” a reference, police testified, to a bullet being in the chamber.
With the gun in his hand, Davis walked up and “began firing through the driver’s side window of the Jeep,” AL.com reported. “He fired at least eight shots, some of them while running in an arc from the driver’s side around the back of the vehicle.”
Harris’ boyfriend used his own gun to return fire, hitting both Davis in the shoulder and Miller’s Dodge Charger twice. The boyfriend then was able to drive the Jeep away. It soon spotted a police car and, seeking help, stopped at the nearby Walk of Champions in front of Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Harris, the mother of a 5-year-old boy, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Miles and Davis are being charged with capital murder. Miller has not been charged with any crime and an assistant district attorney told AL.com that “there’s nothing we could charge him with” according to the law.
Perhaps there isn’t. Perhaps bringing someone else their gun moments before it became a murder weapon and perhaps additionally having your car block the path of a vehicle just before that vehicle was riddled with bullets isn’t a crime in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Let’s be clear though, even if Miller is cleared of any actual legal charges, it doesn’t mean his behavior is excusable.
This was Miller getting a request to bring a weapon to someone he had to reasonably believe had been drinking, perhaps heavily, in a crowded college bar district and doing it rather than a) not doing it, b) telling his teammate to leave rather than escalate the situation, c) just driving over unarmed and picking his teammate up or d) any number of other better options, namely anything else. Even doing nothing would have been better.
Miles was in no immediate danger. If you have time to text someone to drive a weapon over, you also have time to walk away from the conflict. This is a college town. This was in front of a bunch of college bars and late night diners. This wasn’t a stand-your-ground situation. This was an idiot blasting bullets all over Tuscaloosa.
If anything, everyone involved … Davis, Miles, Miller, the entire University of Alabama are lucky that only one person died that evening on The Strip. Police estimate at least 11 bullets were fired. That’s a bunch of unsuspecting and innocent U of A students who could’ve been killed as well.
This was a tragedy that could have been an even worse tragedy and none of the Alabama basketball players mentioned did anything but the wrong thing that night.
What happens next is the question. Miller may be cleared legally, but the response from the university, and eventually for him, the NBA, is not settled.
Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats offered up a bizarre dismissal of the situation Tuesday in a news conference. The statement was so tone deaf that it suggests either Oats didn’t fully understand the facts of the case, Miller’s true involvement and/or the question, which simply asked if he was “comfortable with [Miller’s] proximity” to the shooting.
That seems more likely than the alternative — that he is a truly dreadful person. Still, this is what he said.
“We’ve known the situation since [it happened],” Oats said Tuesday. “We’ve been fully cooperating with law enforcement the entire time. … We know about that. I mean, can’t control everything anybody does outside of practice. Nobody knew that was going to happen. College kids are out. Brandon hasn’t been in any type of trouble nor is he in any type of trouble in this case.
“You know, wrong spot at the wrong time.”
UPDATED INFORMATION
1. Miller's attorney has given some new information in a statement. It appears that Miller did not get out of his car. He had no conversations with Miles or his friend after arriving where the shooting occurred. The attorney stated that Miller went to pick up Miles before this occurred. In fact, Miller was on his way to pick up Miles and was unaware the gun was in his backseat. He also did not block anyone from leaving the area.
2. Miller has been interviewed by various law enforcement officials. He has fully cooperated at every step and will continue to supply any information he might have.
3. Greg Bryne stated that the shooting occurred immediately after Miller arrived and had nothing to do with the actual shooting. He also stated that Nate Oats made his statement yesterday and was unaware of certain facts regarding the sequence of events. Bryne further stated that Miller was not involved in the shooting.
My personal opinion as a practicing criminal defense attorney - given the facts as laid out by law enforcement officials, I do not think Miller has violated any laws. I can see no reason he should be charged. I am particularly impressed by the information Miller was attempting to pick up his teammate. While unfortunate that all this happened, it is also clear he is not a criminal. I have no information regarding what part Bradley played in the matter. It appears none. Miller's attorneys are doing an excellent job in representing their client. I am impressed as a colleague by their efforts.
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