Alabama cheers basketball star despite alleged role in killing

The University of Alabama is getting criticism after letting one of the nation’s top collegiate basketball players remain with his team after he allegedly transported a gun to a teammate for a confrontation that ended in a killing.

The student-athlete, Brandon Miller – the highest-scoring player on the second-ranked college basketball team in the US – allegedly drove the gun last month into downtown Tuscaloosa in a late-night delivery requested by a texting teammate, Darius Miles. Mr Miles in turn is alleged to have relayed the gun to a friend, Michael Davis, who police believe then fatally shot a woman, Jamea Jonae Harris, as her armed boyfriend tried to shield her from their unwanted advances.

Mr Miles and Mr Davis were both charged with murder, and Mr Miles was kicked off the University of Alabama basketball team, where he was a seldom-used player. Mr Miller, however, has remained the star member of the team as it continues towards a likely top-tier seeding in the hugely popular NCAA national basketball championship tournament – known as March Madness – that begins next month.

In Alabama’s most recent game, an 86-83 win this past weekend over the University of Arkansas, Mr Miller used his pregame introduction to his cheering home crowd in Tuscaloosa to combine with a teammate to mimic the routine of his being patted down by a police officer, before scoring a team-best 24 points.

In a statement, the University of Alabama called Ms Harris’ death “a tragic situation” but said “no current student-athletes are considered suspects, they are only cooperative witnesses”.

“These facts have informed our decisions,” the university said. “This matter is being handled by the criminal justice system, and we will have no additional comment until it concludes.”

Ms Harris died while making a weekend visit to Tuscaloosa, along with her boyfriend, to visit her cousin, a University of Alabama student. Those criticising the university’s refusal to sanction Mr Miller include the victim’s parents, who in interviews have described themselves as shocked and angered by Mr Miller’s uninterrupted role with the team.

An attorney for Mr Miller has said that his client did not physically handle the gun after driving it to the area of restaurants and bars on the western edge of campus as requested by Mr Miles. Police have said that Mr Miller’s car appeared to have been positioned in a way that hindered the ability of Ms Harris and her boyfriend and cousin to leave before their vehicle was shot, although Mr Miller’s attorney has said that any such placement was not intentional.

Mr Miller was booed at his team’s previous game, held at the University of South Carolina one day after his alleged role in Ms Harris’ death became public. The freshman phenomenon nevertheless managed to score a career-high 41 points in a 78-76 win.

After the home game against Arkansas, the university basketball team’s coach, Nate Oats, said he had not noticed the pregame police pantomime but said it was “not appropriate” and would not be repeated.

The Alabama situation comes amid another uptick of gun violence in the US, including three Michigan State University students killed in a campus shooting earlier this month, and three University of Virginia football players fatally shot in November by a former team member.

The criticism of the University of Alabama, meanwhile, follows numerous other cases of US universities accused of failing to police their high-profile sports teams, with prominent examples including sexual abuse scandals at the University of Michigan, Ohio State University and Pennsylvania State University.

paul.basken@timeshighereducation.com