Brandon Miller’s Entrance Will No Longer Include Being “Pat Down”

The public relations nightmare continues for the Alabama men's basketball team. There has been one poorly handled incident after another for the team in the wake of the Jan 15 shooting that led to the death of 23-year-old mother Jamea Jonae Harris.

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It started with head coach Nate Oats' tone deaf response to a question about Brandon Miller's involvement just hours after it was alleged in court that Miller had delivered Darius Miles' gun to him, which was then used to kill Harris. According to a statement sent out hours later, Oats had no idea the information had come out when he was in front of the press, as he had been in practice. It was a glaring oversight.

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Then one could consider Miller's attorney waiting until just hours before the game against South Carolina to clarify Miller's involvement in the tragedy another PR firestorm for the team. That information could have come out the morning of the hearing, or when the shooting happened, but it didn't.

Now, in the first home game since it was alleged that Miller (knowingly or not) delivered the weapon used to kill Harris, UA failed to step in and end the pre-game tradition of Miller being pat down by walk-on Adam Cottrell as he takes the court in the announcement of the starting lineup.

That falls on Miller and Cottrell themselves, but it also falls on the massive public relations department at Alabama, a school that ironically boasts one of the top public relations programs in the country out of Reese-Phifer Hall.

Many folks around the country were, fairly or not, upset by this. It seems as tone deaf as Oats' earlier "wrong spot, wrong time" comments given everything that has happened.

Oats offered a statement about the now-defunct tradition after the game.

“Before I get started on the game, it was my brought to my attention after the game about our pregame introductions.I think that’s something that’s been going on all year. I don’t really know. I don’t really 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 for the remainder of this year," said Oats.

It remains to be seen whether the explanation will be enough to call off the dogs, or if the public relations nightmare will continue for Alabama.