Tide’s Oats takes blame for Miller’s ‘TSA’ intro

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.– Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats took blame Tuesday for the pregame introduction pat-down where walk-on Adam Cottrell patted down freshman forward Brandon Miller prior to Saturday’s win over Arkansas.Oats said his players told him the intro was replicating a person getting checked by the Transport Security Administration as they clear through security before boarding a flight.”That situation is on me.

We dealt with as a team and as quickly as I brought it up to them, they immediately comprehended how it could be interpreted and all of us felt dreadful about it,”Oats stated.” They explained to me that it’s like when TSA checks you before you get on a plane and now Brandon’s cleared for takeoff.Editor’s Picks 2 Related “We, as the adults in the space, must have been more

sensitive to how

it could have been translated. I dropped the ball. That’s it. I faltered on it. We’ve addressed it. I can assure you that it will not take place again. “On Saturday, after Alabama’s win, Oats stated he doesn’t see player introductions but called Miller’s pregame introduction ritual “not suitable.”Miller had done the exact same pat-down pregame intro for many games during Alabama’s season. He continued doing it even after Tuscaloosa detective Branden Culpepper testified during an initial hearing on Feb. 21 that Miller transported ex-teammate Darius Miles’gun to him on the night of the fatal shooting of 23-year-old Jamea Jonae Harris on Jan. 15, after Miles texted him to do so. Miles and Michael Lynn Davis are both accused of capital murder.Miller has not been charged with a criminal offense and both investigators and Oats have stated Miller has actually worked together with authorities in the examination.

Paula Whitley, the Tuscaloosa chief deputy district lawyer, told AL.com there was “absolutely nothing we could charge [Miller] with. “Miller’s lawyer, Jim Standridge, launched a declaration Wednesday stating Miller did not see Miles’gun in the vehicle which it was”hidden under some clothes in the rear seats “of Miller’s vehicle. Standridge likewise declared Miller didn’t touch the weapon and was not associated with offering the gun to Michael Lynn Davis, who supposedly fired the weapon that killed Harris.Tuesday was the fifth straight press conference, whether before or after games, in which Alabama did not make players readily available to deal with the media.