Earlier this week, Alabama Crimson Tide men’s basketball coach Nate Oats made some controversial comments when asked about the news that star player Brandon Miller delivered the gun that killed Jamea Harris to suspected murderer Darius Miles.
During the press conference, Oats said that Miller was simply at the “wrong spot at the wrong time” and that he “did nothing wrong.” And those comments did not sit well with Jamea Harris’ family.
Kelvin Heard, the stepfather of Harris, was at a restaurant on Tuesday when he saw Oats’ press conference comments on television. He told AL.com that it hurt him and his wife, DeCarla, to the point of tears.
“There was only one person in the wrong place at the wrong time and it was Jamea,” Heard said. “When I heard him say that my heart hit the floor. His words cut so deep. It’s just downright disrespectful.”
Heard said that his stepdaughter’s murder overshadows everything about this Alabama basketball season and that it’s “not ever washing out.”
“This season is stained in Jamea’s blood,” Heard said. “After what this coach said, for us as a family, this season is stained in the blood of Jamea Harris and it’s not ever washing out. Coach Oats crossed the line [Tuesday]. He said they prayed at practice. They weren’t praying for Jamea. They were praying for their own players.”
[AL.com]
