Friends of Nolan Wells sue Terrell Owens for defamation over Instagram post

Three friends of Nolan Wells, a Mississippi teenager who died following a boating trip in July, have filed a defamation lawsuit against NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens, according to The Guardian.

The lawsuit stems from an Instagram video Owens shared on September 26, which the plaintiffs say suggested that they, Warren Hudson, Jax Pitalo and Morgan Seymour, deleted evidence from Wells's phone after his death. The three men deny the allegation in their lawsuit, according to the report.

The Guardian's report does not detail the specific legal claims made in the lawsuit beyond the defamation allegation, nor does it specify what remedies or damages the plaintiffs are seeking from Owens.

Owens, a former NFL wide receiver and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, built a large social media following during and after his playing career, a platform the lawsuit implies was used to spread the allegedly false claim to a wide audience.

The circumstances of Wells's death, including any official findings from authorities investigating the boating trip, were not detailed in the available source material. Owens has not been reported, in the material reviewed, as having issued a public response to the lawsuit.