Bediako played for Alabama in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 season. He was named to the SEC All Freshmen First Team. Started 67 games for them, averaged 6.6 ppg/5.6 rpg and 2 blocks per game.
He then entered the draft in 2023. He went undrafted and then joined San Antonio for summer league. He signed a two way contract after that summer but tore a meniscus so missed most of 2023. In 2024, he played summer ball for Orlando but ended up signing a two way contract with Denver. He spent most of the season with the Denver G League affiliate the Grand Rapids Gold.
This season he was on the Motor City Cruise, Detroit G League affiliate.
He sued the NCAA this month and was granted a TRO that allows him to play immediately for Alabama. Comically the case was heard and TRO issued in Tuscaloosa, AL. The judge that issued the TRO is an active donor on The Crimson Tide Foundation. He is listed under the $100,000.00-$249,999.00 level of donor. He is also a guest lecturer at the Alabama Law school. There will be an initial hearing next week.
NCAA is appealing to Congress to step in again but doubt it has much effect and doubt that this guy's request gets denied.
NCAA statement on Charles Bediako: "These attempts to sidestep NCAA rules and recruit individuals who have finished their time in college or signed NBA contracts are taking away opportunities from high school students. A judge ordering the NCAA let a former NBA player take the...β Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 21, 2026
#17 Alabama instantly gets a fringe NBA forward to bolster its lineup for a Tournament run.
Comments
What is even college athletics anymore
It's anything you want it to be.
Let's call up NAW...we should be able to sue to let him play in both leagues simultaneously
Yeah can we just get the 2018-19 Hokies back together and play them till they fall apart
This is BS
Including the fact that it was definitely a biased judge making the ruling.
Yeah, this feels like one of those times where fully discussing the matter at hand requires political discussion, but ultimately I appreciate not having to navigate that minefield here.
We have completely lost the plot at this point.
This is a professional athlete by any definition you would like to use.
I could go on a 10 paragraph rant, but this was the obvious and inevitable result of the "NCAA always bad, we just need to start paying players and let it sort itself out" line of thinking.
Not entirely disagreeing with you, but the NCAA has also buried its head in the sand through all of this. They were against NIL until they lost in court and they had no contingency plan ready for how to handle it. Had they seen the writing on the wall and put up guardrails ahead of time, we are likely in a different place. Now they've lost all control and it's going to be hard to put the toothpaste back in the tube.
Reform is needed and like it or not, the NCAA is going to have to be a part of that. They desperately need some competent leadership to shape a strategy for that reform to take place and be enforceable. Unfortunately, they are currently just throwing their hands up and saying, "See we told you this would happen!" The current strategy players are using is getting a TRO and daring the NCAA to use their resources to fight it further, which they just don't seem all that interested in doing.
The eligibility stuff is stupid. I'm here for players to get as much money as they can. I don't love the way the portal is being used, but I get it.
Even the Pavia stuff... I don't love it, but it doesn't bother me that much. There's not going to be many JUCO/D2 guys who can make that type of impact. I'd prefer for him to not get the extra year, but it doesn't bother me.
Pros going (back) to college is dumb. Michael Zheng (columbia) just won a first round match at the Australian Open, earning $140k. Now, he could still turn it down and return to college... but why? My dude, why are you going back to college? You need a scholarship to finish your degree? You're a top 100 player in the world; if columbia won't pay for you to finish your degree, you can surely pay for it yourself. Also, you're getting a psych degree, it's not that impressive.
My understanding (I think Ross Delinger explained this on the yahoo pod) is that judges will default to a TRO if there's very little time between the lawsuit and the season. But lawsuits that are filed now for football are not getting TROs because there is actually time to litigate the case.
While I hate this result and I think bama coaches are complete assholes for pushing this, it's probably the correct interpretation of the law (though, I am very much not a lawyer, just a podcast listener and message board reader, so I would love for one of our in-house TKP counsel to correct me).
But part of the plot here is that decisions like the Pavia one or the Tez Walker eligbility decion (where he argued that to maintain his mental health he had to play Football, but only for UNC) and similar have all played into this scenario.
Guys see that the NCAA has no real authority and arguments that are (at best) of very limited merit and even less rationale have won. And high-level legal authorities like Darren Heitner all perfectly willing to get involved. Add in an obviously not impartial judge and you have the recipe for a Bullshit Burger like this.
It's not reasonable separate the scenarios and pick out which ones you like and you don't. For those that are in the "go get your bag" camp, they also have to accept that this is part of what they support too.
It absolutely is lol. It's not like there's no place in between complete/total player empowerment and getting a free bagel/cream cheese is deserving of an NCAA penalty. I can support having a transfer portal, but also thinking that it should be open for just one week during the summer.
No it's not. Is this a byproduct? Sure; I get that established professionals would never attempt to return to school if it didn't pay somewhat competitively. But that's not a reason to say that the players should never have the opportunity to earn/accept money outside of a scholarship.
It sounds like a no-brainer decision to go all in on being pro for Zheng, but it's actually a much harder choice. He's currently ranked 148. You need to be top 100 in professional tennis to be guaranteed entry into the Grand Slams. Anything lower and you generally have to grind out Challengers tournaments and get through qualifying rounds to even get matched up against Alcaraz or Sinner at the big Masters series and Grand Slams where all the money is. Sure, he hit big and made $140k at this tournament. But when you consider having to pay for travel, coaches, physios, etc., you simply have to break into the Top 100 to make it close worthwhile.
I agree he can't have his cake and eat it, too. He should have thought of this before entering the AO, but I get why he's trying to run back to college.
Yes, I recognize the importance of being in the top 100 (and I falsely assumed he'd be top 100 after his AO performance), but:
So, I don't understand his decision at all.
To me, this is like Bill Gates/Zuck/whoever staying at Harvard after their then-startups received ample venture funding. His career has started. Go do that.
Comical at best. Might as well start letting high school kids play in the LLWS. Let men compete in women's sports. Let horses run in the dog races. Anything, as long as nothing stands in the way of someone making a buck.
At least one of those things is already happening.
And I honestly wouldn't be shocked if a second one of them actually has happened in the past, but they never got caught.
I could totally see somebody racing a genetically mutated horse in a dog race. Just slap a coat of paint on `er and put it out there.
The one piece of this I would love to see is what does his G League contract specify? Does Alabama have to buy him out of that contract by cutting the Pistons a check?
What happens if the next judge says this was the wrong decision, he is ineligible and as a result Bama has to zero out every game they won while he played. That could throw them from have 22 wins to having say 14 wins and therefore out of the tournament.
The first judge inserted a no penalty clause in the TRO. Any wins until a court rescinds it will still count. I did laugh when I saw someone suggest that Tennessee sue Alabama to get a TRO barring him from playing in their game there.
Even if the wins count, nothing prevents the selection committee from not selecting them if they dont win the SEC Tournament
That's right, from a Tennessee perspective they would I assume bear the costs or benefits of this to their record.
Which is the part that makes the least sense to me here....
Not a Lawyer, but my understanding was TRO are generally used to "maintain the status quo" until a full hearing can be accomplished. It is used generally to prevent immediate "harm" to one (or both) of the parties involved.
Since Bediako was already playing in the NBDL and being paid to play basketball and it has never been the status quo for NBDL players to return to College to play, it doesn't make much sense to me on the surface as to why the ruling fell this way (other than the Bama-Booster Judge).
This was part of his Legal Argument:
"Had Mr. Bediako had more foresight to see the paradigm-shifting changes coming to compensation for NCAA athletes, he likely would still be on campus playing for the University of Alabama right now," the complaint reads, via Al.com. "When the NCAA recently began to reinstate players with G League experience, and even players who had entered and been selected in the NBA Draft, Mr. Bediako saw this as a chance to right a wrong decision that he had regretted over the past three years."
This is essentially akin to me Suing Jeff Bezos because I didn't have the foresight to buy Amazon stock when it was sub $100, but now I think he should sell it to me for $50/share just because I made a mistake and bought Sears instead....complete nonsense.
Yep regret with no consequences. He WAIVED his eligibility to go into the draft. It pisses me off that there is this second chance at the apple.
Im confused, I mean bias judge so not ,but how would he still be at Bama after exhausting 4 years? This would have been his 4th season and he was after movie year so he would have exhausted his eligibility.
His lawyers are arguing his NCAA clock stopped when he left so should get two more seasons.
If he knew about the paradigm shift he would have sat out 3 season and waited for the pay day, gotcha, will they buy a bridge in Brooklyn im trying to offload
Just realized...Bediako is represented by.....Drum roll please....
Darren Scumoftheearth Heitner
Isn't he the only lawyer doing this? Real Pete Higinbotham energy
Between this and the Duke QB who just wants his NIL contract he signed with Duke to just go away, I'm starting to really root hard against the athletes in this current era.
The pendulum swung HARD and seriously overcorrected to the point where the NCAA needs to be given actual authority to regulate, and come down hard with the hammer to reign it under control
Who could've forseen that when you gave them an inch, they'd try and take a mile?
FTFY.
Agents too
Everyone. Because schools, conferences, coaches, and agents had already taken that mile.
when I italicize things it's meant to indicate sarcasm
"What I claim is to live to the full the contradiction of my time, which may well make sarcasm the condition of truth"
100000000%
There is (was?) a middle ground between NCAA suspends player for getting a free meal or selling his/her Autograph and a complete free-for-all with Professional athletes returning to college to make a quick buck.
We blew through that long ago.
I don't want to see professionals playing college sports...and judging by the empty stands and TV ratings for the NBDL and UFL, very few others do either.
Every Charles Bediako and James Nnaji is taking a scholarship spot from an 18 year-old somewhere who would otherwise have an opportunity. This isn't creating more for college athletes, its just taking from one and giving to another (some of whom already had their opportunity).
Again...We Have Lost The Plot.
Also, Alabama isn't even hiding the in the open corruption of this situation.
I'm in the boat of putting 95% of the blame for these things on the school. Alabama should not be doing this. They are the ultimate ones with agency in this situation and decided to try to get this guy on their team.
Same with Miami and the Duke QB. Its ultimately the greed/ambition of the schools with no sense of adherence to any standard or rules that have taken us to where we are
And if the schools won't stop it, because greed, the conferences should be able to put a halt to things to protect their overall investments and the other member institutions. The $EC should be hopping and the other schools should be filing something right this minute.
I don't disagree with you, but I'm pretty sure the SEC motto is "If you ain't cheating, you ain't trying!"
Shame on Bama for even entertaining this.
NCAA fails in court everything but you'd think they could at least implement a rule that the player has to be in good academic standing for the duration of the athletic season to at least make this guy enroll before conference play.
I hope he stays healthy, but fails miserably and is mercilessly booed every time he touches the ball.
I know don't hate the player hate the game, but gotta make these guys feel the heat for being failed pros and being rewarded for it.
Nate Oats, Alabama's head coach trying to use the aww shucks everyone else is doing it so I have to do what's best for my guy Chuck. How could I not choose to do what's best for my guy?
Yeah...if anyone is expecting Nate Oats to step up and be the responsible one in the room, they aren't just barking up the wrong tree, they are in the wrong forest.
1) isn't his money paying Bediako
2) he gets paid to win
3) "plausible deniabilty" apparently is a Major at the prestigious Univ. Of Alabama
"The system is already broken, so we're going to go ahead and break it some more."
What frustrates me is coaches like this will complain about the "system being broken" and then go sign a G-Leaguer. There's just no shame. Nate Oats has all the agency in the world not to do this and he does it anyway.
Same thing with tampering. Coaches choose to tamper with other team's players. They choose to circumvent the salary cap and not report deals. They choose not to follow the rules. No one forces them to do it.
Hard to reform a system that is fundamentally run by self-interested narcissists.
Coaches are paid to win and leashes are shorter than ever for them.
When a door opens up to help themselves win, they are going to take advantage of it.
Yes, they could "take the high road," but ultimately the high road is one that is much more likely to lead to unemployment. Besides, a number of the "high road" Coaches have left the game in recent years---Krzyzewski Roy Williams, Dave Clawson, Bennett, and even Saban. They weren't perfect but they stood for something. And now they are being replaced by guys like Nate Oats, Will Wade, Coach Prime, Lane Kiffin, and now Pete Golding.
You either take advantage of all the opportunities that present themselves or others will. You can see this in the case of Dabo who has failed to get ahead of the Transfer Portal and Clemson has gone from Championship contenders to mid-pack in the ACC.
I think the bigger point here is that we all need to come to a realization:
College sports NEEDS THE NCCA
-We need a centralized power to set reasonable rules and standards and be able to enforce them. Otherwise, we are left to use Temporary Restraining Orders by a Legal System that is clearly not unbiased
-Yes, the NCAA sat on their hands which played a huge role in how things have transpired, but at some point we need to move beyond that because the "no rules at all" Era is (already has?) turned into a chaotic disaster.
How about this:
1. Standard rules for Transfers and Eligibility
2.Clear standards for NIL contracts and penalties for breaking them
3.Penalties for blatant tampering, including scholarship losses
Some common sense rules could go a long way to help get the 27 year-old semi-pro but not really good enough to actually be a Pro guys out of college sports, which would be globally beneficial
Most of those things (if not all) will require collective bargaining, which requires employment.
And employment is DEFCON-1 in college athletics circles.
Very true, but its not only DEFCON-1 from the University side.
The Players ( particularly the higher compensated ones) don't want collective bargaining and enforceable contracts anymore than a University Board does.
Do you think Carson Beck, Mensah, or Darien Williams want to collectively bargain when they can essentially just do as they please?
Is it in their interest to collectively bargain with a 3rd string MLB or Punter?
You can look at the recent dysfunction and corruption in the MLBPA and NFLPA to see how united and collaborative Athletes can be.
What IMHO should happen is an entity--The NCAA or a new one--given an Antitrust exemption and allowed to create actual Regulations. Until then, stupid crap like this will continue to happen and probably only get worse.
With all due respect, they were all dirty, they just made sure they had enough plausible deniability to avoid punishment and ensured there was a fall guy in case that went wrong.
The coaches nowadays know the NCAA is so feckless they don't have to even pretend to care anymore
Its hard to say Dave Clawson was dirty, it would not be a shock, but he's not really on those other coaches level
Coaches are paid to win
However, they are also paid when they don't win. Ex: Pry, Brent.
Best example I can think of...........Jimbo Fisher
That is part of the reason why Dabo naming names is going to force the NCAA to do something. He wants sanctions for tampering and has provided blatant proof. Now, how much screaming does Ole Miss do when hid with 5 scholarships (nothing in NIL days) but a bowl ban as well.
I am happy to report that Tennessee still beat Alabama, overcoming Bediako's 13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals to win 79-73. Hopefully Bama keeps stacking those L's. He was 5/6 from floor and 3/4 from the line as Alabama's third highest scorer.
Felt dirty cheering for the Volunteers
My favorite part was Tennessee Basketball @ing his G League team that they were next.
TRO was extended 10 more days and NCAA has petitioned the judge to recuse himself from the case based on his conflict of interest. Turns out he is also a basketball season ticket holder if reports are true.
Not a lawyer, but yes, it is inconceivable to me how you could not get this thrown out on appeal for obvious conflict of interest. Maybe the next judge rules against you, but this was so blatant that I wonder if ethics charges could be brought up against the judge.
After it is tossed, I want the NCAA to strip the wins (if any).
Unfortunately even if the TRO gets tossed, since Alabama is technically a third party in this case, I think the judges clause about not being able to punish Alabama will still be in effect. Now at season end, when the committee is "selecting" teams they just happen to leave Alabama out...well...
Yeah... this is crazy. But I'm not sure much of anything related to "rules" and "laws" really apply to important people anymore.
It's like my dad always told us... "If you're important and if you have money, you'll almost never get into any real trouble."
Are they going to do the same for the Ole Miss QB too? since an Ole Miss grad is the judge on that case too.
Judge has recused himself. Bet he wishes he had never heard of Bediako
Nah, he doesn't have a conscience. He thought it would fly under the radar, help Bammer make the dance, and nobody would be wise to it. $EC and all. He's kicked back at night drinking just fine.
Welp...he recused and apparently all the other Judges in Tuscaloosa are all Alabama graduates.
But are they big time boosters with no ethics as well?
I'll go out on a limb and say they all are from the same cloth. If you know a Bammer grad...they are very similar.
Unfortunately the losing streak did not continue. Missouri falls 90-64.
Bediako had 14 points, 6 rebounds in 18 minutes. So far 27 points in 43 minutes....color me shocked that a guy that has been playing G League and practicing with NBA guys has had his best two game production for Alabama ever. /SSS
I wonder what he's majoring in? Man it'd be great to go back to college. I think I still have some eligibility for the clay target team as I redshirted my freshman year. Maybe club fishing as well.
Majoring in cash collection
Lebron still has 4 years of eligibility left since he never went to college. Wonder if Mike Young could convince him that another trophy and more records would help his legacy.
With all his flopping, wouldn't he fit in better at Duke?
Florida pummels Alabama 100-77 with their fans chanting "G League Dropout" every time Bediako touched the ball
Clearly got in his head as he was the only Alabama starter that didnt reach double-digits
"Hey kids, did you ever wonder what an NBDL scrub would look like on your favorite D1 basketball team??? Well, thanks to the heedless supporters of NIL and the folks at GetYourBag Industries, we bring you the Charles Bediako Experience. Why use University revenue to pay for academic upgrades or offer Faculty competitive wages if you can't make the Sweet Sixteen? That's for losers. Winners want to watch Charles average 6 and 6 while their massive Student Loans accrue soul-crushing amounts of interest. He's not really that good and we still can't beat Florida or Vanderbilt, but give Charles some Cash and he'll give you a win over Auburn. Thanks to your Athletic Fees, and brought to you by the makers of Diego Pavia's Endless Eligibility, we can finally pay Charles what every 23 year-old former professional athlete deserves!!"
"Well, of course it sounds bad when you say it like THAT...."
Greg Sankey, SEC Commissioner, today submitted an affidavit urging the judge to not let Bediako play
Speaking of, how did they let a 'Cuse alum get the reigns of the $EC conference? He's a yankee and from outside the circle.
Because unlike the old boys club of the ACC, the SEC doesn't care about anything other than making money and winning titles.
Probably because he's not playing well.
They dont need him as much, they got two guys back from injury
Second judge delayed his ruling after yesterdays hearing. This made Bediako eligible to play Auburn. Alabama is winning by 1 with 7 minutes to go. Bediako has 12 of Alabama's 71 points
Of note: Tuscaloosa Circuit Court Judges are elected officials ...soooo....
Bama unfortunately wins again
Its going to be funny when one of these players goes in front of a booster that's been hoping for the backup to take over all season long. "A million dollars! for that qb play, I don't want too throw bad money after bad money, denied!"
Round these parts we call that pulling a Jerry Jones
Second judge ruled today, denying Bediako's request so he is no longer eligible to play for Alabama.
Does this make the games he played forfeit losses and will it do anything to Bama?
I'm going out on a limb and saying ...
Because of the TRO he could play in the games and Bama can't be forced to forfeit. It is unclear if the committee could keep them out of the tourney as an at large, but I think Bama would have to show proof and intent which would be hard to do.
I wonder if the second judge can rule that the Bama blameless factor in the TRO was invalid as Bama had to know that his eligibility was up. That said, was he enrolled? Did they allocate a scholarship or was he a "walk on?"
I know it doesn't matter, but I would be curious as to how he just got added to classes mid semester and was he attending them. Or does it even matter at this point. I guess the question is, are NCAA athletes even required to go to class?
He enrolled before Spring semester started. The case was first brought to NCAA for eligibility determination the first week of January. After it was denied by NCAA it then became a court case.
Nate Oats stated Bediako is in scholarship and will remain so even though he is ineligible to play. I doubt that will extend to next year if he has not graduated by then.
Alabama was treated as a third party in the case so unfortunately the original TRO protects them. They would be considered acting in good faith. NCAA President has already stated thry will not seek to reverse the results of the three wins he participated in.
If you look at the wins, he had a good game against auburn which was a 3point game so you could argue without him they lose, but mizzou they blew out and didnt need him. A&M is more questionable because of how close it was but he only had 5 points and like 6 rebounds 1 for 2 shooting, amd 3 for 7 from FT, you could argue they'd still win that game without him. So really 1 game he made a difference to a mid level SEC team. What's the point of going after games.
Well, at least they wasted energy, time and money on him.
Another Alabama judge is going to overturn this latest ruling and award them W's for all the games that he had to sit out. NCAA Will grouse about a bit, but ultimately allow it.
I don't think you just get to keep surveying judge donors.
Not so fast, my friend...
Took them 4 tries but they eventually got an Ole Miss grad to give them the ruling they wanted
Unlimited eligibility if you sue for it. Β―\_(γ)_/Β―
it's a microcosm of real life, really
Sadly true-I wonder what happened to doing your best then accepting the consequences and rules? Guess I'm just too old... get off my yard! (I don't want a 'lawn' just a 'yard- don't care if it's grass, weeds, clover, moss- just not plain dirt!)
If its green part of the year and you have to mow it, it counts as lawn
Nah- to me, lawns require regular maintenance and in some cases watering them; yards are 'cut it when you feel like it' (or if neighbors or the county complain lol), and it's ok with me if it is brown by May or June, lol.
Yeah If I was every road opponent for Ole Miss next season, I would seek a friendly judge to get a TRO against Chambliss being eligible to play in their state. Wait until the week of the game to get it done so appeals etc come too late.
Not only was the judge an Ole Miss alum but he is also an elected official so no way was he going to block this.
My biggest problem with this is that if his medical redshirt was so important why did he wait three years to request it? Ferris State also reportedly provided the NCAA documentation that his sitting out was not medical in nature.
Because, as I understand it, you don't (can't?) request a medical redshirt until your eligibility is exhausted.
The squeaky wheel (with the good lawyer) gets the grease.
Now the court needs to fast track the case so he can lose the appeal before the season starts.
If DC was still here, I feel like this thread would have at least 1.5 times as many comments.
Yeah, and they'd all be noise, even though he's not wrong about any of it, hence my quick comment.