There's a whole new level of wildness.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey asks court to block Alabama's Charles Bediako in rare move originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey is urging a state judge to uphold NCAA eligibility rules and deny extended eligibility to a player in his own league. The move places him at odds with the growing wave of athlete-backed legal challenges across college sports.
In an affidavit filed Thursday in the Circuit Court of Tuscaloosa County Sankey asked a judge to block Alabama basketball player Charles Bediako from continuing to play while challenging NCAA eligibility rules.
“I respectfully ask the Court to uphold the NCAA eligibility rules challenged in this case,” Sankey wrote via Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger. He called it essential to the integrity and educational mission of college athletics.
Bediako, a 7-foot center, returned to the Alabama Crimson Tide last month despite leaving school three years ago and signing multiple professional contracts, which typically results in a permanent loss of collegiate eligibility. He is playing under a temporary restraining order granted Jan. 21. A hearing Friday before Judge Daniel Pruet will determine whether that order becomes a preliminary injunction.
The case is notable because many schools. including others within the SEC, have actively supported players seeking expanded eligibility through the courts. Sankey’s filing instead aligns him squarely with the NCAA's efforts, even as he has publicly criticized the waiver process as being inconsistent.
Sankey warned that granting Bediako eligibility could allow former professional athletes to return to college, creating competitive imbalance and limiting opportunities for high school recruits.
The dispute unfolds amid a surge of eligibility lawsuits following a 2024 ruling that granted Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia an extra year. Within the SEC alone, Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar are pursuing similar legal paths.
Alabama is 2-2 in games Bediako has played and visits rival Auburn Tigers on Saturday, though his availability remains uncertain.
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Category: General Sports
