Why Alabama has security guard with Brandon Miller during NCAA Tournament
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Alabama basketball has arrived in Birmingham for the NCAA Tournament. As part of that, Brandon Miller is being accompanied by a security guard.
Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats explained the decision behind that at a press conference Wednesday before No. 1 seed Alabama faces No. 16 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
"If you guys saw some of what I have seen sent his way, I think you would understand why that's the case," Oats said. "I don't want to get into all that. The entire situation as you know is a heartbreaking situation on all accounts. Some of the messages from people that can sit behind fake email addresses, who knows whether they're real or not, that I've seen is something that nobody would ever want their son ... I treat my players like my own sons. I don't have a son. I have three daughters, but I put myself in his parents' shoes."
Oats said the Alabama administration has seen the messages to Miller that Oats has seen.
"It's nothing that college kids should have to go through," Oats said. "I think if you were able to see what I've seen, you would understand why that's going on right now."
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A police investigator testified during a preliminary hearing on Feb. 21 that the gun used in a fatal Jan. 15 shooting on the Tuscaloosa Strip was transported to the scene in Miller's car.
Former Alabama player Darius Miles, 21, and Michael Davis, 20, who is not affiliated with the basketball program or university, were arrested and charged with capital murder on Jan. 15 after the shooting death of 23-year-old Jamea Jonae Harris.
Miller has not been charged with a crime, and his attorney said Miller never touched the gun, was not involved in its exchange and never knew illegal activity involving the gun would occur.
Investigators believe the gun belonged to Miles, 21, but believe Davis, 21, pulled the trigger. Both have been jailed without bond since Jan. 15.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alabama star Brandon Miller has security guard at NCAA Tournament
