HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) – As Charles Bediako’s college basketball eligibility hangs in the balance, local basketball fans speak on why he shouldn’t be allowed to play another game.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey filed an affidavit on Wednesday, where he asked a court to block Charles Bediako from continuing to compete in the NCAA. This could happen in court on Friday morning, where a judge has to decide whether to allow the NCAA to enforce its eligibility rules against Bediako.
Bediako, who played his first two years of college basketball at Alabama from 2021-23, spent the last few years playing in the G-League, the NBA’s developmental pro league. But after a Tuscaloosa judge granted him a temporary restraining order against the NCAA two weeks ago, Bediako was immediately allowed to rejoin the Crimson Tide.
Since then, he’s played in four games for Alabama, averaging 9.5 points per game and 5.0 rebounds per game.
Locally in Huntsville, many college students and basketball fans at UAH are against this.
They told WAFF 48 no professional athlete should be allowed to come back to the collegiate game. Commissioner Sankey says it ruins the integrity of the sport, and these fans agree.
“Definitely having that NBA training is a very unfair advantage against anybody else in the NCAA,” said Trey Ridenour, a junior and former athlete at UAH.
When Commissioner Sankey pushed against Bediako’s ability to continue playing on the college level, these students were encouraged.
“A lot of college players are playing for an opportunity, right? They’re playing for the chance to go big. That’s what you see in March Madness,” said Deshaun Weerasekera, another UAH junior. “That’s why you see all that intensity in all these college games, is because it’s to get their name on the map. But when you have players that are coming back, you’re kind of taking the heart out of the sport. And the heart is the reason I love watching college basketball, and college sports in general.”
Not just these college students, but Beth Ryberg, who has been a fan of UAH and Tennessee basketball for over 30 years, hopes Bediako’s college career ends in Friday morning’s hearing.
“He went and played. He’s a grown man and came back, and he’s playing with younger men,” Ryberg said. “I don’t appreciate it. I think they’ve gone on, they’ve moved away, they’ve made money. NIL has totally changed the game of basketball.”
These fans told WAFF 48 they don’t blame Bediako at all. They say he’s just doing what is best for himself, but they blame the system.
Some say if he’s allowed to keep playing, what’s to stop others from doing the same?
Bediako’s preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled for Friday morning at 9:30 a.m.
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