It can’t be easy for any head coach to move on and continue leading a team after a player is arrested on murder charges, but Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats made quite a questionable move after Alabama player Darius Miles was charged with capital murder this week, speaking with a prominent figure who was once accused of murder himself.
According to Alabama Crimson Tide beat writer Mike Rodak of Alabama.com, head coach Nate Oats revealed that he spoke to former NFL linebacker Ray Lewis following the arrest of Miles.
Nate Oats told @UA_CTSN he spoke to former NFL LB Ray Lewis in the wake of Darius Miles' arrest.
"His daughter went to Alabama a year-and-a-half ago. He went through a similar situation in Atlanta. He played in the NFL. He told me what he thought guys needed to hear."
— Mike Rodak (@mikerodak) January 18, 2023
“Nate Oats told @UA_CTSN he spoke to former NFL LB Ray Lewis in the wake of Darius Miles’ arrest. ‘His daughter went to Alabama a year-and-a-half ago. He went through a similar situation in Atlanta. He played in the NFL. He told me what he thought guys needed to hear,'” Rodak said in a tweet.
Lewis, of course, was indicted on murder charges back in 2000 but the charges were dismissed as part of a plea deal.
Oats’ decision to speak to Lewis regarding this situation caused quite a stir on Twitter.
Aaron Hernandez and OJ were busy? https://t.co/ctvGJ2p7hu
— B1G_Ryan (@B1G_Ryan) January 18, 2023
“Aaron Hernandez and OJ were busy?” Ryan of Meet at Midfield said in a tweet.
Had to do a double take to make sure this wasn't from one of those parody sports accounts. https://t.co/XU7sgKOjoT
— Jonathan Acosta (@_jacosta) January 18, 2023
“Had to do a double take to make sure this wasn’t from one of those parody sports accounts,” news anchor Jonathan Acosta said in a tweet.
I've just been staring at this tweet for five minutes https://t.co/bjDxEFHMsv
— Dan Sostek (@dan_sostek) January 18, 2023
“I’ve just been staring at this tweet for five minutes,” reporter Dan Sostek said in a tweet.
I've read this tweet six times, and I still don't know what Ray Lewis's daughter has to do with getting away with murder. https://t.co/y8tHdLyZVP
— Jeff (BPredict) (@BPredict) January 18, 2023
“I’ve read this tweet six times, and I still don’t know what Ray Lewis’s daughter has to do with getting away with murder,” college football analyst Jeff of Basketball Predictions Blog said in a tweet.
To hope he gets found not guilty?
Strange. https://t.co/3RSI2CynUd
— Jeff Ermann (@Jeff_Ermann) January 18, 2023
“To hope he gets found not guilty? Strange,” Jeff Ermann of InsideMDSports.com said in a tweet.
It’s certainly a bizarre move from Oats. And it was even more strange to talk about it publically.
