Alabama Coach Calls Onetime Murder Suspect, NFL Hall Of Famer For Advice After Player Charged In Killing

A college basketball coach who had a player charged with murder A sought the guidance of NFL Hall of Famer Ray Lewis, a former homicide suspect, is uniquely qualified to assist.

Nate Oats, Alabama basketball coach, reached to Lewis to discuss the case with Darius Miles. This was before Alabama played Vanderbilt Tuesday. Miles, who is 6-foot-6 inches tall and a forward, has been fired from the team. He was charged with capital murder for the shooting death Sunday of a 23 year-old woman in campus.

“He went through a similar situation in Atlanta,” Oats told the Alabama Crimson Tide Sports Network pregame show before the Tides’ 78-66 victory. “He played in the NFL. He told me what he thought guys needed to hear.”

In 2000, Lewis and two others were indicted for murder and aggravated attack charges. They were accused of their involvement in the stabbing deaths in Atlanta of Jacinth Baker (and Richard Lollard) in a nightclub after the Super Bowl. In exchange for a guilty plea, Lewis agreed to testify against two other defendants and a misdemeanor accusation of obstructing Justice. Later, the other defendants were acquitted.

Lewis, now 47 years old, enjoyed an impressive career that included a Super Bowl win the following season and was inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame 2018 with lingering questions about the murders. The white suit Lewis was wearing on that night was never found. It was allegedly bloody and left in a garbage bin. Prosecutors said Baker’s blood was found in Lewis’s limousine, and Lewis admitted that he lied to police the next day, when he denied being at the scene.

Miles has been accused of providing a gun for Michael Lynn Davis. Miles allegedly used it in the murder of Jamea Johan Harris around Tuscaloosa at 2 AM. The incident occurred along a strip of bars, restaurants, and other establishments on campus. Both could be sentenced to death.

Lewis played college football at Miami University, while his daughter Diaymon Lewis went to Alabama.

“I just thought he’s been through, you know, a tragic situation,” Oats said. “He is one of the more mentally tough athletes in my time. His daughter went to Alabama, so I was able to get his number. I talked to him. He didn’t talk to the team or anything. But he kind of talked to me. He’s a man of faith as well. Just kind of told me to share a little word with him, pray with him. That’s what they need right now. His daughter went to school here a year-and-a-half ago, so she’s pretty shook up by the whole situation, too.”