3 of Nolan Wells’ friends sue NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens for defamation

3 of Nolan Wells' friends sue NFL.

Key points

• FILE – Former NFL football player Terrell Owens speaks at the NFL's Super Bowl Radio Row in San Francisco, Feb.
• Mississippi Joint Task Force Vigilance to employ $2.5 million from Justice Department to fight fraud.
• 3 of Nolan Wells' friends sue NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens for defamation.
• This person are under 21 and considered minors under Mississippi law, filed the federal lawsuit Monday on their behalf.
• Mississippi revenue collections exceed estimates by $123.3 million for first three months of fiscal year.

3 of Nolan Wells' friends sue NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens for defamation. By: Sophie Bates, Associated Press – October 7, 2026.

FILE – Former NFL football player Terrell Owens speaks at the NFL's Super Bowl Radio Row in San Francisco, Feb. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File).

According to the lawsuit filed Monday Owens created a post on X, reading "ARREST THEM IMMEDIATELY!" and linked to an Instagram video. It theorized the three friends killed Wells.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Three friends of Nolan Wells, a Black college student who went missing from a Mississippi island during a Fourth of July celebration and was afterwards identified dead, are suing NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens for defamation.

For context, the lawsuit was among a handful of defamation claims the friends filed this week against content creators. They additionally previously indicated their intent to sue the Rev. Al Sharpton and "The View" co-host Sunny Hostin for comments they created while discussing Wells' death.

In practice, the fathers of the three friends. This person are under 21 and considered minors under Mississippi law, filed the federal lawsuit Monday on their behalf.

Notably, the lawsuit alleges Owens defamed the three friends after posting on X: "ARREST THEM IMMEDIATELY!" Owens' post additionally linked to an Instagram video. It theorized the three friends killed Wells and tampered with his phone, according to the lawsuit. The post was created days after a Mississippi grand jury declined to recommend charges in Wells' death.

Owens has 1.2 million followers on X and had previously pledged $25, 000 to a reward fund for information leading to an arrest and conviction in Wells' death.

"Not only is he defaming them, he's basically saying to the mob, get your pitchforks, get your torches, " remarked Edward Paltzik, a defamation and media attorney representing the three friends.

Notably, the Associated Press attempted to contact Owens through social media and SMAC Entertainment, which, according to its website, manages Owens, but did not immediately receive a response.

Notably, the three were part of a group of 30 friends, including Wells. This person rode to Horn Island on three boats on the Fourth of July. Wells' friends remarked Wells did not return to the mainland with them, choosing instead to stay behind to talk with a girl, a claim his family has disputed. His body was discovered two days afterwards off the island's coast.

Though the grand jury discovered his death was "consistent with drowning." Wells' family and their lawyers disputed the grand jury's findings, pointing to unexplained bruising on the back of his head and noting that his airways and stomach were devoid of water, neither state nor independent autopsies have not determined Wells' cause of death.

Images showing Wells with white friends the day he went missing fueled online speculation that racial dynamics played a role in his death.

Two of the three friends who are suing Owens were singled out online in part since they appear in a photo with Wells and one other friend on a boat. It was circulated on social media after his disappearance. The third called Wells' mother and the U.S. Coast Guard to report Wells missing. Associated Press reporter Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this report. Regarding the Author(s). Sophie Bates, Associated Press. Elections Frank Corder October 6, 2026.

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Taken together, the developments around 3 of Nolan Wells’ friends sue NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.