How the New York Times Lost a Defamation Suit for the First Time in Over 50 Years

For the first time in more than 50 years, the New York Times has lost a defamation lawsuit brought in the United States.

A jury awarded University of Alabama basketball player Kai Spears $9.25 million in damages last week after finding that the paper defamed him when it incorrectly reported that he was at the scene of a deadly shooting.

Spears sued the paper in 2023, accusing it of libel and "false light" invasion of privacy over a March 2023 article that falsely reported that, two months earlier, he was a passenger in a car at a shooting that left a 23-year-old mother dead. Three Alabama basketball players were present at the scene, including one player who was charged with capital murder and is awaiting trial. However, the other two were not accused of any wrongdoing.