Tuscaloosa Circuit Court Judge Daniel Pruet denied a preliminary injunction in Bediako’s lawsuit against the NCAA that prevents him from continuing to play for the Crimson Tide, and dismissed a temporary restraining order Bediako obtained last month for immediate eligibility.
Bediako, 23, previously played for Alabama from 2021 to 2023. The 7-footer from Brampton, Ontario, declared for the 2023 NBA Draft after two seasons in college, waiving his remaining eligibility at the time. He went undrafted but signed a two-way contract with an NBA team and spent most of the past three seasons in the G League, including most recently a Jan. 17 game. He never appeared in an NBA game.
He rejoined Alabama last month and took his case to court after the NCAA denied Alabama’s request to reinstate his eligibility.
Bediako played in five games for the Crimson Tide (16-7) after the temporary restraining order was granted on Jan. 21, averaging 10 points and 4.6 rebounds in 21.6 minutes per game. He scored 12 points off the bench in Alabama’s 96-92 rivalry win at Auburn on Saturday. The team was 3-2 when Bediako played. Alabama is not expected to give up any of the wins Bediako has been part of.
Monday’s ruling, which followed a hearing Friday, represents a significant triumph for the NCAA, which faces numerous challenges to its eligibility rules. A number of former G League and international players have been granted NCAA eligibility this season — including Baylor’s James Nnaji, a former NBA Draft pick — but unlike Bediako, none had previously played in college or signed an NBA contract, the latter of which was established as a red line award by NCAA President Charlie Baker.
“Common sense won a round today,” Baker said in a statement Monday. “The court saw this for what it is: an attempt by professionals to return to college and displace the next generation of students. College sports are for students, not for people who have already run away to turn pro and now want to hit the ‘undo’ button at the expense of a teenager’s dream. While we’re glad the court upheld the rules our members actually want, one victory won’t fix the national mess of state laws. It’s time for Congress to stop watching from the sidelines to look and help us provide some actual stability.”
This passage in the judge’s order denying Bediako’s injunction request is particularly important.
He rejects the argument that a professional player will suffer if he cannot come back and earn NIL money. pic.twitter.com/XLdvINQmMY
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) February 9, 2026
Alabama coach Nate Oats said last week that Bediako would continue to receive a scholarship even if he cannot continue playing.
“Charles did nothing wrong,” Oats said last month about his decision to play Bediako. “I will stand by our guys every time, no matter what the outside says, if they have done nothing wrong and Charles has done everything right.”
Last Thursday, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey filed an affidavit in favor of upholding the NCAA’s eligibility rules and denying Bediako’s request to continue playing college basketball. It was a notable example of the commissioner – one of the most prominent and powerful leaders in college sports – advocating against a member of his own conference.
“The inconsistent application of the NCAA eligibility rules challenged in this case – through judicial decisions or otherwise – is disrupting college sports,” Sankey wrote in the affidavit.
In a separate opposition response last week, the NCAA described Bediako’s claim as “weak” and described it as a “self-serving, minimalist, verified complaint from a basketball player seeking substantial short-term financial gain.”
Despite waiting all weekend before making a decision, the judge found these collective arguments compelling enough to deny the order.
In a five-page order denying the motion, Pruet laid out multiple reasons why Bediako’s request did not meet the standards for injunctive relief, such as irreparable harm or a lack of adequate remedies. The judge wrote that Bediako “has failed to demonstrate that he is entitled to the injunctive relief he is seeking.”
Bediako’s original complaint argued that he “would never have left school to pursue financial gain elsewhere” if he had known how much money he could soon have made at the college level through name, image and likeness (NIL) and direct revenue sharing from the university under the terms of the House settlement.
The motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction stated that Bediako would “suffer irreparable harm” if he were not immediately eligible due to the competitive, financial and educational opportunities he would miss, and the complaint stated that Bediako’s case falls under the same category as other G League and international players who were eligible.
The University of Alabama released a statement last month in support of Bediako and “his continued efforts to be reinstated for competition as he works to complete his degree.”
The school said Monday it was disappointed with the ruling.
“While we understand the concerns about the competitive and developmental implications of former professional athletes competing in college, it is important to recognize the reality,” the report said. “The NCAA has granted eligibility to more than 100 current men’s basketball players with previous professional experience in the G League or abroad. Granting eligibility to some former professionals, and not others, is what is causing the chaos we are currently in and why consistency from decision makers is so desperately needed.”
Alabama and Oats have received criticism from other coaches, administrators and college basketball personalities for recruiting and playing Bediako, and his return to college basketball appeared to prompt continued eligibility efforts for other athletes who had left college and played in the NBA. Amari Bailey, a former UCLA guard, was selected in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft after one season with the Bruins and played in 10 games for the Charlotte Hornets. His lawyer recently confirmed this The Athletics that Bailey is pursuing a return to college basketball.
Friday’s hearing in the Bediako case was heard before Judge Pruet because the original judge — James H. Roberts Jr., who granted Bediako the temporary restraining order — later recused himself after the NCAA argued that Roberts’ relationship with the university suggested an “inadmissible appearance of impropriety.” Roberts is listed as a University of Alabama athletics donor on The Crimson Tide Foundation website, and his wife, Mary Turner Roberts, is reportedly part of the legal team representing former Alabama player Darius Miles, who will stand trial for murder stemming from a shooting in 2023.
There are also multiple lawsuits against the NCAA by college football players, including Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar. Both cases were filed in a state court, such as Bediako, as opposed to a federal court, possibly due to the belief that a state court could grant a more favorable ruling to a high-profile athlete seeking to play for a state university.
Many of the eligibility lawsuits stemmed from a challenge in federal court in 2024 by former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, which led to the NCAA issuing eligibility waivers for the 2025-26 season to athletes attending junior colleges or other non-NCAA schools. The NCAA has faced a total of 55 eligibility lawsuits, resulting in both wins and losses for the organization, with others still ongoing.
“The biggest problem for me, when I talk to coaches, athletic directors and others, is that they rightly say that it seems like where you live, what state you’re in, and what court you end up in and what judge you end up in front of is the deciding factor as to whether or not you’ll approve (challenge) if you go outside the bounds of the NCAA rulemaking process, and that’s both confusing and not fair,” Baker said. The Athletics this week. “And I don’t have a good answer to that, because they are right.”
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