Three friends of Nolan Wells, a Mississippi teenager who died after a boating trip in July, have sued NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens for defamation. The lawsuit was filed after Owens shared an Instagram video on 26 September, which suggested that Wells's friends, Warren Hudson, Jax Pitalo, and Morgan Seymour, had deleted evidence from Wells's phone following his death.
The three men denied these claims in their lawsuit. The complaint, filed on Monday in a Mississippi district court, also names the fathers of the young men as plaintiffs, as their sons are considered minors under state law. It accuses Owens of damaging their reputation and endangering their physical safety.
The complaint alleges that due to Owens's conduct, the young men have faced numerous death threats, harassment, and daily fear, leading to them being refused service at public establishments. Wells's parents and civil rights lawyer Ben Crump are continuing to call for further investigations into his death, citing the state's autopsy report.