Overview
- Tuscaloosa County Judge James H. Roberts Jr. issued a temporary restraining order that makes Bediako immediately eligible to practice and play for Alabama.
- The order, effective for 10 days, also bars the NCAA from threatening or imposing penalties on Bediako, the university, coaches, or players while the case proceeds.
- A preliminary-injunction hearing is scheduled for Jan. 27, and Bediako could appear as soon as Saturday when Alabama hosts Tennessee.
- The NCAA says it will not grant eligibility to athletes who signed NBA contracts and urged Congress to empower enforcement of its eligibility rules.
- Bediako went undrafted in 2023, signed multiple NBA-related deals including a two-way with the Spurs, played in the G League without an NBA appearance, and his lawyers cite Baylor’s James Nnaji—who had no NBA contract—as a contrasting precedent.