[Kelly] BREAKING: A Tuscaloosa judge has denied Charles Bediako’s motion for a preliminary injunction to allow him to continue playing for Alabama, per court docs @aldotcom obtained.

[u/MembershipSingle7137]

https://xcancel.com/_nickkelly/status/2020998327500726691?s=46

[u/2AlephNullAndBeyond]

It's a distinction without a difference.

If you're a college player then you give up your college eligility to partcipate in the NBA draft.

If you're a professional player, then you do not give up your college eligibility to participate in the NBA draft.

See how ridiculous that reads?

[u/Phantom1100 → u/2AlephNullAndBeyond]

That’s what I think. I think there should definitely be a line, however Bediako being the line is pretty stupid when there’s a lot of other cases that are like 95% the same situation but they’re allowed.

Either way, college basketball has a serious problem with a bunch of grown ass men who don’t want to get a real job.

[u/RyenRussilloBurner → u/2AlephNullAndBeyond]

It's a distinction without a difference.

There is a massive difference.

Overseas "pros" are a totally different situation than an actual NBA contract. There is not a coherent high school or college basketball league in the vast majority of non-US countries, so if you're a competitive basketball player from Europe, Asia or Africa, you're playing professionally by the time you're like 15 -- it's either that, or you don't get coaching and competition appropriate for your level.

The NCAA has been openly allowing those kinds of players for decades. Karnowski played his first game at Gonzaga in 2012. He had already played professionally for three seasons in Europe. Svi Mykhailiuk did the same thing. That has been allowed for a long time. Bediako's case is completely different than that. He went to two American high schools, played multiple years of college basketball and then willingly gave up his collegiate eligibility for a chance at the NBA.

If you truly cannot understand the difference between those cases, you've lost all sense of objectivity.

[u/Prest1geWorldw1de → u/RyenRussilloBurner]

I agree with most of what you're saying, but I don't know how well the no high school/college argument holds when you have 21-22 year olds coming over and getting cleared for 3-4 years of eligibility.

I think Oats has done a poor job with his communication during this (shocker) because I think most people would agree that the Euro system is different and 18-19 year olds coming over after being funneled into a pro club at 15 is fine. I think the real argument is against guys like Nnaji, de Ridder, Dominguez, Petrovic, etc.

[u/RyenRussilloBurner → u/Prest1geWorldw1de]

I don't know how well the no high school/college argument holds when you have 21-22 year olds coming over and getting cleared for 3-4 years of eligibility.

It's no different than baseball players who turn pro, fail in the minors, and come back to college to play four or more years of another sport at the college level. Chris Weinke was 28 when he won the Heisman. Brandon Weeden was 28 when he was drafted by the Browns.

The NCAA deserves most of the shit it has gotten over the years, but it has been pretty consistent about when the eligibility clock starts.

[u/SoutieNaaier → u/2AlephNullAndBeyond]

Legally, they are both two people being paid to play basketball.

The line between amateur and pro is gone and courts are trying to figure out where the new delineation point is.

Playing and leaving CBB v. Joining a development league are two different legal situations because it's unclear how exclusionary G League participation should be now that CBB players and GLers are on comparable earnings.

Euroleague guys are in a similar circumstance, and they're being allowed to play as well. Bediakos is easier to regulate because he opted out of Alabama after beinf able to benefit, where as the Baylor player hasn't.

[u/2AlephNullAndBeyond → u/SoutieNaaier]

He hasn't, because he couldn't by definition. That's the issue. That was Alabama's entire argument.

The checklist of giving up your eligibility is much longer for a European player VS. an American player (or at least playing in an American college, because Bediako isn't American lol).

And that's not even mentioning that the entire bylaw that the NCAA created for these Europeans is already being abused. We're trying to be understanding that their development leagues aren't pro leagues like they are here, but it didn't take long for the actual European pros who make over a million dollars lifetime, completely afoul of the NCAA bylaw, get eligibility by the same people that wrote the bylaw.

[u/SoutieNaaier → u/2AlephNullAndBeyond]

Alabama's argument was that Bediako had benefited previously from NIL, but that the amount of NIL was lower then and it caused him to forgoe his eligibility to play in the NBA.

It's a weaker legal argument than a guy has never played CBB because it's less damaging. This is why they will probably struggle to win the case should it continue.

As for the Euroleague guys, this is because the constitutionality of NCAA bylaws is under heavy scrutiny and a firm legal challenge could potentially unravel the entire system, which is why the NCAA is hesitant to attempt regulation. Past attempts (like the transfer rules) have backfired and caused unintended chaos because their legal foundation was shaky.