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Myron Medcalf
Just weeks after a judge ended his second stint as a college basketball player, Charles Bediako is asking the Alabama Supreme Court to give him «interim injunctive relief» so he can play the rest of the season for the Crimson Tide.
Bediako’s attorneys made the request of the court Monday while the center’s appeal of a circuit court judge’s denial of a preliminary injunction to continue playing moves forward.
Bediako, a standout at Alabama from 2021 to 2023, had signed multiple NBA contracts and was playing in the G League when a Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court judge granted him a temporary restraining order in January to play this season — a groundbreaking ruling in the sport.
James Nnaji, who was the 31st pick in the 2023 NBA draft, was also granted eligibility by the NCAA. However, the difference between those players and Bediako is that they had never signed NBA contracts and had never played college basketball.
Bediako signed a two-way deal with the San Antonio Spurs and multiple Exhibition 10 deals, along with his extensive time in the G League, after he left Alabama to enter the 2023 NBA draft.
His lawyers argued that his professional experience was no different from the experiences of former European pros and Nnaji before those prospects gaining collegiate eligibility. They also said Bediako was missing out on NIL opportunities.
Another Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court judge ruled earlier this month that players can’t play in the NBA and come back to college.
«To obtain the benefits promised to him for participation in NCAA basketball, the Plaintiff must be eligible to participate in NCAA basketball,» the judge said in his denial of Bediako’s request for a preliminary injunction.
Holt said his team will soon file the full appeal that details its reasoning for asking a judge for another opportunity to play.
