Tuscaloosa circuit court judge Daniel Pruet has denied Charles Bediako’s motion seeking a preliminary injunction to allow him to continue playing basketball for Alabama, according to court documents AL.com obtained Monday.
The temporary restraining order that had previously allowed Bediako to play for Alabama this season also is no longer in place.
“(Bediako) has failed to establish that he would suffer irreparable harm absent the issuance of the injunction,” Pruet wrote in his ruling.
In January, Bediako filed a lawsuit against the NCAA after the organization denied his request to return to college basketball. Bediako had spent three seasons in the NBA’s G League after he was not selected in the NBA draft in 2023. Bediako had not played in the college ranks since 2023.
But then Tuscaloosa judge James H. Roberts, who has since recused from the case, granted Bediako a temporary restraining order that gave the 7-foot center immediate eligibility.
So Bediako returned to the court for the Crimson Tide on Jan. 24 against Tennessee. He’s played in five games this season, and Alabama has gone 3-2 in those matchups, most recently beating Auburn on the road. Bediako has averaged 10 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks over 21.6 minutes per game.
“Common sense won a round today,” NCAA president Charlie Baker said in a statement Monday. “The court saw this for what it is: an attempt by professionals to pivot back to college and crowd out the next generation of students. College sports are for students, not for people who already walked away to go 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 win doesn’t fix the national mess of state laws. It’s time for Congress to stop watching from the sidelines and help us provide some actual stability.”
AL.com reached out to Alabama athletics and Bediako’s representation for comment Monday night.
Bediako’s attorneys, as well as the NCAA’s attorneys, each argued their sides during a hearing in Tuscaloosa this past Friday. Among several points, Bediako’s side argued the NCAA enforces its rules arbitrarily. Meanwhile, the NCAA argued the distinction of Bediako matters from other former pros who’ve joined the college ranks.
Pruet sided with the NCAA on this distinction.
“Second, (the NCAA) acted with adequate justification in enforcing the rules promulgated by its membership,” Pruet wrote. “The rules do not permit a student-athlete to participate in collegiate basketball, leave for the NBA, and return to the collegiate arena. All the evidence in the record indicates that (the NCAA) has consistently applied this specific rule.”
Bediako did not play in any NBA games prior to returning to Tuscaloosa, where he is now enrolled at UA. But he did sign an NBA contract. The NCAA has granted eligibility for former pros but not those who signed NBA contracts.
Bediako was the first former college player to have signed an NBA contract, played in the G League and then played in college again.
“Everywhere I’ve been going back to my high school days, I’m going to do right by my players in every single situation, as long as they didn’t do anything wrong,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said in January. “Charles has done nothing wrong. Charles and his agent and his attorneys have seen what’s going on in the landscape of college basketball and all the former pros that are playing. Just about everybody we play’s got one. And they’ve seen who the NCAA has allowed to be eligible and they didn’t see any reason why Charles wouldn’t be eligible, and I agree with them.”
