From Ridiculous to Absurd

NCAA eligibility cases have been in the news a lot over the past few years.  They generally follow the same script.  Somebody doesn't like the NCAA's ruling, they find a friendly judge, that judge takes their side and grants that person an injunction, which the NCAA then appeals.  Lather, rinse, repeat.  It doesn't even matter how ridiculous the lawsuit is.  A judge will rule against the NCAA no matter what, even if they're the only one (other than that athlete) who doesn't think their ruling is insane!

Of course, the Protect College Sports Act getting passed by the Senate would go a long way towards ending many of these lawsuits.  That's one of the main purposes of the legislation!  State judges are making these rulings, yet applying them nationwide.  How does that make any sense?!  Which is why a federal framework is necessary.  To supersede 50 different state interpretations.

But more on the Protect College Sports Act once the Senate begins discussions and hopefully gets the bill passed.  If you needed any more proof that the Protect College Sports Act has to get passed yesterday, the latest eligibility ruling is ample evidence.  Because, once again, the plaintiffs have found a judge to take their side despite the fact that no one else agrees with them and the general reaction is that the judge's opinion is 100 percent wrong.

The latest absurd anti-NCAA ruling came to us from a judge in Louisiana.  This judge granted a temporary restraining order to a group of 30 athletes seeking a fifth year of collegiate eligibility.  Among those 30 athletes are 16 football players.  A few of those football players appeared in NFL training camps.  Three of them ARE ON ACTIVE NFL ROSTERS!  Yet this idiot judge thinks they should be allowed to return to college AFTER PLAYING IN THE NFL!

"Oh, they were only on training camp rosters.  They never played in an actual NFL regular season game."  Doesn't matter!  Once you sign with and play for a professional team in any capacity, that's it!  That used to be such an easy, straightforward thing to understand.  You play in college, then go pro.  Not the other way around.  And certainly not back and forth.

In a separate but related case, R.J. Luis Jr. is also currently engaged in a suit regarding his eligibility for the 2026-27 season.  Luis, the 2024-25 Big East Player of the Year at St. John's, recently signed with LSU as a transfer for 2026-27.  He hasn't played in more than a year since he signed a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz after not being selected in the 2025 NBA Draft.  Because of that NBA contract, Luis currently isn't eligible to play for LSU (and shouldn't be!).  But since he "only" played in the G-League, he "should" be allowed to go back to college.  (At least that appears to be his thought process.)

Luis is building his argument around the case surrounding Alabama's Charles Bediako last season.  Bediako, who played 82 G-League games across three seasons, got a TRO from a judge who was conveniently located in Tuscaloosa that allowed him to play for the Crimson Tide.  If that sounds absurd, that's because it is!  Bediako played in a grand total of five games for Alabama before common sense prevailed and the TRO was reversed.

It's important to note here that SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey wrote the court to make his opposition known in the Bediako case.  He's just as opposed to the idea of Luis playing at LSU.  This is the SEC commissioner openly going against two conference schools on this issue.  That should tell you all you need to know.  And you can probably guess how Sankey, who's opinion has remained consistent, feels about this latest ruling.

Sankey was very outspoken in his criticism.  He wrote the judge asking him to uphold the NCAA rules that prevent former professional athletes from returning to college, noting how it "fuels disruption" and undermines the "fundamental principles" of college sports.  Sankey also brought up how all of these eligibility cases (not just this most recent one) directly impact high school students coming into college sports, only to have opportunities unfairly taken away from them by these returning players.  NCAA rules present structure and stability that all of these court cases threaten to upend.

His filing was in response to the Luis case, but it could just as easily apply to the NFL guys seeking a return to college (which they wouldn't even be attempting if they weren't marginal pros who are either fighting to make rosters or already got cut): "Permitting former professional athletes to return to competition creates a competitive disadvantage and fundamental unfairness for current student-athletes who have not pursued a professional sports career but instead have maintained their commitment to the collegiate athletics model."  Sankey also stressed that these judges are completely missing the point with their eligibility rulings.  The whole point of college athletics is that these are student-athletes, a point that continually gets lost.  "The rules align the time permitted for college athletics with the pursuit of an undergraduate education and further the important purpose of preserving opportunities for future student-athletes to participate in college sports."

College sports don't exist as a backup plan for guys who are good at football, but not quite good enough to make it in the NFL.  Once you go pro, that's it.  There's no going back.  The TRO does state that those former pro athletes must terminate their contract and return any money they received.  But, whether you pay it back or not, if you've been paid to play a sport, you're a professional athlete.  It doesn't matter if you only played in training camp and the preseason, either.  Even if you don't make the regular season roster, you still got paid to play.

Yes, college athletes also get paid now.  Between NIL deals and direct revenue sharing payments from their schools, some college athletes are making as much as seven figures a year.  So, the definition of "amateur" has definitely become murkier.  But it's still the important distinction that separates the NCAA from professional leagues.  You play in college with the hopes of going pro.  Not the other way around.

My question is this...if not for the knowledge that they would almost certainly find a judge who'd rule in their favor, would these players have even tried this?  And what does that say to the NFL teams they're allegedly trying to make?  These guys are literally ON NFL ROSTERS right now, and they're talking about trying to go back and play another season of college football!  That should make the decision on whether or not to cut them easier!  (It's also not like baseball where you can reenter the draft if you don't sign.  Once you sign, that's it.  You can't get drafted again.  That's true in all sports.)

Somehow, these rulings get more and more asinine.  It's not the same level as Brendan Sorsby, but, let's face it, that's such a high/low bar to clear that it might not be possible to do so.  This one is right up there, though.  Especially since everybody realizes how dumb it is and the ruling will almost certainly get overturned after the NCAA appeals.  Because the NCAA rule, in this case, is common sense.  Or at least it should be.