The fathers of three Mississippi friends have filed a federal defamation lawsuit against Terrell Owens after the NFL Hall of Famer demanded their arrest on social media.
The suit, filed Monday on behalf of the young men — all under 21 and considered minors under state law — targets Owens over a post on X where he wrote “ARREST THEM IMMEDIATELY!!” and linked to an Instagram video, according to the filing. That video theorized the three friends killed Nolan Wells and tampered with his phone. Owens, 51, commands 1.2 million followers on the platform and had previously pledged $25,000 to a reward fund for information leading to an arrest and conviction in Wells’ death.
Edward Paltzik, the defamation and media attorney representing the three friends, framed Owens’ post as more than mere words. “Not only is he defaming them, he’s basically saying to the mob, get your pitchforks, get your torches,” Paltzik said. The lawsuit lands days after a Mississippi grand jury declined to recommend charges in Wells’ death, a decision that has done little to quiet online speculation about what happened to the Black college student.
The three friends were part of a group of roughly 30 people, including Wells, who traveled to Horn Island on three boats for a Fourth of July celebration. According to the friends’ account, Wells chose not to return to the mainland with the group, staying behind instead to talk with a girl — a version of events that Wells’ family has publicly disputed. His body was discovered two days later off the island’s coast.
Both state and independent autopsies have failed to determine Wells’ cause of death, though the grand jury concluded his passing was “consistent with drowning.” Wells’ family and their legal team have challenged that finding, citing unexplained bruising on the back of his head and the absence of water in his airways and stomach.
Images showing Wells with white friends on the day he disappeared circulated widely online and helped fuel speculation that racial dynamics figured into his death. Two of the three friends now suing Owens were singled out in part because they appear in a photo with Wells and one other friend on a boat that spread across social platforms after his disappearance. The third friend called Wells’ mother and the U.S. Coast Guard to report him missing.
The legal action against Owens appears to be only the opening salvo. Paltzik’s team said they intend to file several more defamation claims this week targeting content creators, and they have previously signaled plans to sue the Rev. Al Sharpton and “The View” co-host Sunny Hostin over comments they made while discussing Wells’ death on their respective platforms.
Attempts to reach Owens through social media and SMAC Entertainment, the management firm listed on its website as representing him, did not yield an immediate response.