Three friends of Nolan Wells, a Mississippi teen who died after a July boating trip, have sued NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens for defamation.

On 26 September, Owens shared an Instagram video that suggested Wells’s friends Warren Hudson, Jax Pitalo and Morgan Seymour had deleted evidence from Wells’s phone after his death, which the three men denied in their lawsuit.

“Arrest them immediately!! Like yesterday,” Owens captioned the post.

In a Monday complaint filed in a Mississippi district court, the fathers of the three young men, who are also named in the complaint as plaintiffs because they are deemed minors under state law, accuse Owens of harming their reputation and endangering their physical safety with the post.

“Due to the conduct of Owens and many other less-famous individuals, these completely innocent young men have been subjected to thousands of death threats, face-to-face harassment, and daily fear and ridicule from complete strangers. They’ve even been refused service at public establishments. Their lives, and the lives of their family members, will never be the same,” the complaint alleges.

Owens could not be immediately reached for comment.

The friends’ counsel also indicated they intend to take legal action against other public figures who have been vocal about Wells’s death including Al Sharpton and The View’s Sunny Hostin.

On 4 July, Wells and his friends sailed for a Mississippi island. He was last seen that afternoon. Two days later, his body was found on the island.

The circumstances of his death have fueled public suspicion. Wells, who was African American, had been partying with a mostly white friend group – a detail that gained traction online as some referenced Mississippi’s past with racial violence.

In late September, a Mississippi grand jury declined to file criminal charges, finding Wells’s death to appear “consistent with drowning”. Jackson county district attorney Angel Myers McIlrath has said Wells’s death was not racially motivated.

Wells’s parents and civil rights lawyer Ben Crump continue to call for further investigations, citing the state’s autopsy report, which said Wells’s airways and stomach were empty. His family has said the lack of water found undermines the drowning determination.

“I cannot take that ruling, and I cannot move on with my life,” Christine Wonsley, Wells’s mother, reportedly said, referring to the grand jury’s findings at a Monday press conference. “We have been left with more questions and heartbreak than any answers.”