Attorneys for University of Alabama center Charles Bediako asked the Alabama Supreme Court on Monday to overturn a recent ruling stating Bediako is no longer eligible to play college basketball.
Tuscaloosa County Circuit Judge Daniel Pruet ruled recently that Bediako was no longer eligible to play for the Crimson Tide. The attorneys also asked Pruet to allow Bediako to begin playing again until the Alabama Supreme Court rules on his eligibility.
A different judge who later recused himself granted the former NBA G League player immediate eligibility to rejoin Alabama's basketball team in January before Pruet’s reversal.
Bediako’s lawsuit in Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court against the NCAA, seeking to play for the Crimson Tide again, was briefly successful. A judge granted a TRO allowing him to play for five SEC games until the recent legal setback. The case caught the nation’s attention as an example of the further professionalization of college athletics. Proponents of letting Bediako play argued that many college teams already have foreign players with professional experience.
Bediako, a seven-footer who played for the Tide in the 2022-2023 season before entering the NBA Draft, averaged 4.4 points per game for the Motor City Cruise in the G League. According to the complaint, he's currently enrolled at the University of Alabama.
David Holt, an attorney for Bediako, asked Pruet to allow Bediako to play until the Alabama Supreme Court rules on the appeal.
“Injunctive relief is warranted while Plaintiff’s appeal to the Alabama Supreme Court is pending. Plaintiff’s appeal presents a number of substantive issues, as outlined in Plaintiff’s Docketing Statement (Doc. 95), under which the Alabama Supreme Court may reverse this Court’s denial of Plaintiff’s request for a preliminary injunction,” Holt said. “However, in the meantime Plaintiff’s request will become moot without interim relief. The University of Alabama’s regular season ends on March 7, the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament takes place from March 11 – 15, and the NCAA Tournament will be held from March 17 through April 6. Plaintiff’s appeal is unlikely to resolve before the season concludes. Without interim injunctive relief, the whole purpose for Plaintiff’s appeal—the ability to play basketball for the University of Alabama for the remainder of play in 2026—will be null.”
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