Alabama HC Coach Gets Brutally Mocked for His Defense of Player’s Controversial ‘Pat Down’ Introduction

Alabama head coach Nate Oats was blasted for his defense of star Brandon Miller‘s controversial “pat down” before the start of Saturday’s game.

In mid-January, 23-year-old Jamea Jonae Harris was killed in a shooting near Alabama’s campus in Tuscaloosa. Former Alabama basketball players Darius Miles and Michael Lynn Davis were arrested for capital murder in connection with the killing. Last week, police told a grand jury that Miller supplied the gun used in the alleged shooting by Miles and Davis after he was summoned to the eventual crime scene by Miles, who asked him to bring the weapon.

Miller faced heavy backlash after he received a “pat down” from his teammate prior to the start of Saturday’s game. On Tuesday, Oats explained why his players went forward with the tone-deaf warmup routine.

“That situation’s on me,” Oats said. “We addressed as a team soon as I brought it up to them. They immediately understood how it could be interpreted, and we all felt awful about it.”

The Alabama head coach told the press that the “pat down” Miller received was similar to how a person would get through security at an airport.

“They explained to me that it’s like when TSA checks you before you get on a plane,” Oats said. “And now Brandon’s cleared for takeoff.”

He took ownership of allowing his players to do the pregame ritual.

“We, as the adults in the room, should’ve been more sensitive to how it could’ve been interpreted,” Oats said. “I dropped the ball on it. We addressed it. I can assure you it won’t happen again.”

Oats received heavy scrutiny on Twitter after he explained why Miller mindlessly stood there to allow his teammate to check him for weapons.

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