Brandon Miller affair thread...

[DrJJoyner]

If you had a friend message you and say - "hey I left my gun in the back of your car -- bring it to me, I am feeling threatened" -- you would say "no"?

If a friend is at a bar and "feels threatened," I'm calling the police, not bringing him a gun.

 

[mdb-tpet]

If a friend is at a bar and "feels threatened," I'm calling the police, not bringing him a gun.

If someone leaves their gun in my car, I'm driving it back to them ASAP and leaving immediately. I want nothing do to with anyone else's weapon. Miller did exactly what I would have done. Calling him anything but in the wrong place at the wrong time in a bad situation he did not create or influence is flat out ridiculous.

 

[4Q Basket Case]

There was ONE article on The Athletic that actually attempted to report the facts.

The main thing I learned in the past week is that the UA AD desperately needs a better PR department. So many unforced errors...[/QUOTE]

Amen to that. They’ve been jaw-droppingly atrocious.

 

[bvandegraff]

Pure conjecture on my part here, but I think that a lot of the media frenzy/rush to judgment is down to the fact that they had no idea that Miller was a part of the investigation in any way (even as a cooperating witness) until the statement by the TPD officer at Davis' and Miles' hearing. The seriously muddled initial reporting from al.com was no help. It seems that many "opinion journalists" (Goodman, Forde, Wetzel, Wolken, etc), either don't want to conduct investigative journalism to support their positions or abandon it when the known facts inconveniently contradict their clickbait hot takes and/or online moral posturing. As unfair as it is to Miller, it's even more so to the victim's family who are left to question if justice is being served based on incomplete or deliberately manipulated reporting/opining.

That said, with all the money at UA athletics' disposal, I can't understand how they don't know that good PR includes crisis management as well as fancy social media posts. As badly as Oats has stumbled through this, it's probably his first time (and hopefully his last) dealing with something like this. I like that he speaks openly and bluntly for the most part, but he really needs some media training for instances like this. That and the pat-down thing were total own goals.

Oats is a quick learner, so I wouldn't be surprised if we hear that future teams have chosen to set curfews for themselves.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Pure conjecture on my part here, but I think that a lot of the media frenzy/rush to judgment is down to the fact that they had no idea that Miller was a part of the investigation in any way (even as a cooperating witness) until the statement by the TPD officer at Davis' and Miles' hearing. The seriously muddled initial reporting from al.com was no help. It seems that many "opinion journalists" (Goodman, Forde, Wetzel, Wolken, etc), either don't want to conduct investigative journalism to support their positions or abandon it when the known facts inconveniently contradict their clickbait hot takes and/or online moral posturing. As unfair as it is to Miller, it's even more so to the victim's family who are left to question if justice is being served based on incomplete or deliberately manipulated reporting/opining.

That said, with all the money at UA athletics' disposal, I can't understand how they don't know that good PR includes crisis management as well as fancy social media posts. As badly as Oats has stumbled through this, it's probably his first time (and hopefully his last) dealing with something like this. I like that he speaks openly and bluntly for the most part, but he really needs some media training for instances like this. That and the pat-down thing were total own goals.

Oats is a quick learner, so I wouldn't be surprised if we hear that future teams have chosen to set curfews for themselves.

I don't fault Oats as much as I do Byrne...

 

[bvandegraff]

I don't fault Oats as much as I do Byrne...

Agreed. Feels like a departmental failure, and Byrne's been around the block long enough....

 

[TIDE-HSV]

If someone leaves their gun in my car, I'm driving it back to them ASAP and leaving immediately. I wan't nothing do to with anyone else's weapon. Miller did exactly what I would have done. Calling him anything but in the wrong place at the wrong time in a bad situation he did not create or influence is flat out ridiculous.

As I remember, Miller didn't even have a chance to leave. Miles took the gun out of the back seat, handed it to the shooter with the statement that a round was chambered, and the shooting started literally within seconds...

 

[CajunCrimson]

If a friend is at a bar and "feels threatened," I'm calling the police, not bringing him a gun.

These aren’t Country Club friends. These kids don’t trust calling the police. Especially about a friend. And a gun being involved. That’s not an option for them. Understandably so.

that’s what these talking heads just don’t get.

 

[DrJJoyner]

These aren’t Country Club friends. These kids don’t trust calling the police. Especially about a friend. And a gun being involved. That’s not an option for them. Understandably so.

that’s what these talking heads just don’t get.

They're scholarship athletes at a state flagship university. They're not supposed to moonlight as gang bangers.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

They're scholarship athletes at a state flagship university. They're not supposed to moonlight as gang bangers.

True, but they don't leave their backgrounds behind them. Also, for a black kid, calling a cop altogether too often, it just leads to more trouble. Anyway, Miller did not behave as a gang banger and it's worth noting that Miller comes from Nashville and Miles and Wade come from Baltimore...

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Here is the Yahoo News account. Note that Miller is not even mentioned. He wouldn't have been mentioned in any of the other articles either, if he weren't a star...

Yahoo

 

[DrJJoyner]

True, but they don't leave their backgrounds behind them. Also, for a black kid, calling a cop altogether too often, it just leads to more trouble.

Totally fair. Still, Miller has an enormous support system behind him as a star athlete at UA. He's a 20-year-old kid but he didn't have to confront the situation on his own instincts alone.

Anyway, Miller did not behave as a gang banger and it's worth noting that Miller comes from Nashville and Miles and Wade come from Baltimore...

While I think he made a series of miscalculations that contributed to tragedy, I absolutely agree that he acquitted himself very well---likely better than I would have at that age---after the excrement hit the fan. He showed enormous composure and courage in being absolutely forthcoming with authorities, which as far as he knew could have placed him in severe legal jeopardy.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Totally fair. Still, Miller has an enormous support system behind him as a star athlete at UA. He's a 20-year-old kid but he didn't have to confront the situation on his own instincts alone.



While I think he made a series of miscalculations that contributed to tragedy, I absolutely agree that he acquitted himself very well---likely better than I would have at that age---after the excrement hit the fan. He showed enormous composure and courage in being absolutely forthcoming with authorities, which as far as he knew could have placed him in severe legal jeopardy.

The importance of this cannot be exaggerated. Had he appeared evasive or truculent, there might have been a different outcome. Even if they are really wrong. LEOs tend to believe that they can tell when someone is lying. IF we assume that he's not lying, that he didn't know the gun was there and did not read the text on the way, then what miscalculation has he made? As Oats said, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. (And made a bad choice in friends.) Personally, I see no reason to assume that he is lying, although that's the assumption the media world has made...

 

[DrJJoyner]

The importance of this cannot be exaggerated. Had he appeared evasive or truculent, there might have been a different outcome. Even if they are really wrong. LEOs tend to believe that they can tell when someone is lying. IF we assume that he's not lying, that he didn't know the gun was there and did not read the text on the way, then what miscalculation has he made? As Oats said, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. (And made a bad choice in friends.) Personally, I see no reason to assume that he is lying, although that's the assumption the media world has made...

Aside from the tendency of media talking heads just to spout off to generate controversy, I think two things are going on here:

1. He's being tarnished, fairly or otherwise, by his choice of friends and the actions they took.
2. He's a Black basketball player who had a tangential part in a murder. Various thug/hood/spoiled associations naturally flow.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Aside from the tendency of media talking heads just to spout off to generate controversy, I think two things are going on here:

1. He's being tarnished, fairly or otherwise, by his choice of friends and the actions they took.
2. He's a Black basketball player who had a tangential part in a murder. Various thug/hood/spoiled associations naturally flow.

I would sub in "accidental" for "tangential." Other that that, I agree...

 

[CB4]

True, but they don't leave their backgrounds behind them. Also, for a black kid, calling a cop altogether too often, it just leads to more trouble. Anyway, Miller did not behave as a gang banger and it's worth noting that Miller comes from Nashville and Miles and Wade come from Baltimore...

I received a call from a friend in Lexington that Sunday afternoon wanting to know "the scoop". I filled him in on it as much as I could at the current time. The first thing he asked was "who is this "Buzz" Davis guy that was with Darius Miles?".

I told him "Miles was recruited out of IMG in Florida but was originally from the DC/Baltimore area. The booking information showed that Davis was from Baltimore so I assume he must be a someone he knew from back home..."

My friend's almost immediate response, "Damn. Kid gets the opportunity to get away from bad influences at home by accepting a scholarship to a quality university only to have it follow you 800 miles to Tuscaloosa? It's hard to keep the mud off you if the hogs follow you where ever you go".

It is easy to make the "gang/hood/thug/crime riddled" leap given the moral decay in that area. We know all too well the issues there given the Brian Robinson shooting/carjacking situation back in August/September.

BTW was anything mentioned at the preliminary hearing concerning any prior scrapes with the law by Davis?

 

[BamaInBham]

They're scholarship athletes at a state flagship university. They're not supposed to moonlight as gang bangers.

If you are characterizing Miller as a gang banger that is a reckless and ignorant statement.

 

[CajunCrimson]

They're scholarship athletes at a state flagship university. They're not supposed to moonlight as gang bangers.

Wow. Usually it takes about four or five messages back-and-forth to get to the real deal. So are you calling Brandon Miller a gangbanger?

 

[CrimsonJazz]

Finebaum had the guru Donald Watkins on today. If the Miller camp had called him, his entire take would have been different. The shear lack of research by those reporting on this is unbelievable.

I'd rather listen to Fran Drescher and Dick Vitale have relations than listen to anything Finebaum has to say, whether about this or anything else. I can't believe that guy still has a career.

 

[BamaInBham]

If a friend is at a bar and "feels threatened," I'm calling the police, not bringing him a gun.

You're totally mischaracterizing Miller's actions. He was going to pick up his friend according to a previous arrangement. He did not know the gun was in the car. He did not get the text referencing the gun till shortly before he got there. He says that he did not read the text and there is nothing that contradicts that, though it can't be proven. His subsequent actions have been the actions of someone with a clear conscience. His play is that of someone with a clear conscience (or a psychopath). The former seems to be the only right conclusion. Brandon's purpose was not to "bring Miles a gun" but to pick him up - even if he had read the text, which he says he did not - his purpose was to pick him up.

As far as his friend, we see him in a different light today than we did prior to the tragedy. At the time Brandon was going to pick up Miles , Darius was someone with absolutely no criminal record, not even jaywalking, there was no history of violence. He was a fun-loving, engaging older teammate, whom everyone, including fans, loved. Nate Oats had vetted him as he does all recruits, no other coaches knew of anything that was a red flag. His Dad is a military man, his mom is a police officer.

Anyway, the above, as far as I know, is an accurate description of the young man/kid Brandon Miller was going to pick up. Not a thug or someone with a checkered past but apparently a kid from a stable home (assuming this from his parents occupations, I could be wrong) with no record of crime or violence. Btw, Brandon has never owned or handled a gun.