Alabama men’s basketball coach Nate Oats has vowed that Brandon Miller’s controversial pregame pat-down ritual won’t happen again, but that has not prompted the standout freshman from removing the imagery from his social media.
Miller, 20, was identified this week in police testimony as the one who transported the gun belonging to ex-teammate Darius Miles that was used in the January killing of 23-year-old Jamea Jonae Harris.
Miller’s attorney has said that he was unaware at the time that he was in possession of the handgun, which has cleared the way for Alabama to allow him to continue playing for the Crimson Tide.
In his first game back since being named in police testimony, Miller scored a career-high of 41 points in Alabama’s overtime victory over South Carolina on Wednesday night. In his first home game on Saturday, Miller received a standing ovation.
But the freshman star created controversy elsewhere when he continued a pregame ritual of getting patted down by a teammate after being announced for the starting lineup.
Oats, who has defended the university’s decision to allow Miller to continue playing, addressed the issue after the game and said it was something that has previously been done throughout the season, but that it won’t continue in light of the shooting.
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"I think that's something that's been going on all year. I don't really know. I don't watch our introductions, I'm not involved with them. I'm drawing up plays during that time. Regardless, it's not appropriate, it's been addressed and I can assure you it definitely will not happen again the remainder of this year."
While Oats has taken a strong stance against the introduction, Miller still has an image of it displayed on his social media.
The banner image on Miller’s Twitter as of Sunday morning is that of the pat-down introduction. It was not immediately clear when Miller made the picture his banner image, but it has not been changed since the controversy on Saturday night.
Miller’s attorney, Jim Standridge, released a statement earlier this week that said Miller "never saw the handgun" that was concealed in the back of his car and was already on his way to Miles when he received a text from him about the firearm.
"Brandon does not own a firearm and has never even handled a firearm," the statement read. "Moreover, he had no knowledge of any attempt to use any weapon."
