A circuit court judge in Alabama denied Charles Bediako’s motion for a preliminary injunction to continue the resumption of his college basketball career Monday, rendering him ineligible once again.

Bediako last month won a temporary restraining order from the Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court that allowed him to rejoin the Alabama basketball team for the rest of 2025-26, in a challenge to NCAA eligibility rules.

Bediako, 23, played two seasons for Alabama before entering the 2023 NBA Draft and going undrafted. He signed a two-way contract with the San Antonio Spurs but was released before playing in an NBA game. He proceeded to play in 82 games in the G League.

Those factors were enough for County Circuit Court Judge Daniel F. Pruet to decide that Bediako did not have a “reasonable expectation” to be allowed to return to the college game as no prior case existed where a player was granted eligibility under the same circumstances.

Pruet said Bediako “failed to establish that he would suffer irreparable harm,” “failed to establish that he has no adequate remedy at law without the issuance of the injunction” and “failed to demonstrate that he has at least a reasonable chance of success on the ultimate merits of those claims.”

It marks a perhaps unlikely victory for the NCAA at a time when its rules regarding player eligibility have been challenged and overturned in court with frequency.

The NCAA had allowed James Nnaji and other former G League players to be eligible to play because they were not previous college players who left, and because they had not signed NBA contracts. That is where the NCAA drew the line.

“To obtain the benefits promised to him for participation in NCAA basketball, the Plaintiff must be eligible to participate in NCAA basketball,” the judge said. “Eligibility to participate in the NCAA is controlled by the Defendant’s application of the eligibility rules legislated by the NCAA membership.”

Bediako’s original TRO was granted by a different judge, James H. Roberts Jr., who later recused himself from the case on the NCAA’s request because he was listed as an Alabama athletics booster who had made a lifetime contribution of between $100,000 and $249,000 to their foundation.

NCAA president Charlie Baker said in a statement Monday that “Common sense won a round” in the ongoing eligibility tug-of-war.

“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,” Baker said. “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.”

Less enthused about the ruling was Alabama coach Nate Oats, who called himself “super disappointed” and felt the case shouldn’t have reached the courts to begin with.

“To me, the NCAA’s point of why Charles shouldn’t be eligible was all these rules that they have, but they’re not applying those rules to all these other players they’ve made eligible,” Oats said on his weekly radio show Monday night. “To me, it was very disappointing in the whole case. Disappointing for Charles.”

A 7-foot center, Bediako played five games (two starts) for Alabama under the temporary restraining order and averaged 10.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots per game. The Tide went 3-2 in those games.

–Field Level Media

San Francisco 49ers defensive end Keion White was shot in the ankle early Monday morning, the team announced Monday.

“Keion White was a victim of a shooting and sustained a bullet wound to his ankle this morning in San Francisco. He is currently undergoing surgery at a local hospital. We will provide further updates when appropriate,” the 49ers wrote in a statement.

The incident reportedly happened at 4 a.m. PT and San Francisco Police spokesman Evan Sernoffsky told The Athletic that the altercation arose between two groups at an event White attended but White was believed not to have been involved with the altercation.

White was treated at San Francisco General Hospital for a non-life-threatening injury and is expected to be OK.

The 49ers acquired White, 26, on Oct. 28 from the New England Patriots. San Francisco sent its 2026 sixth-round pick to the Patriots in exchange for White and the Pats’ 2026 seventh-round selection.

He was drafted in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft and has played in 47 games (20 starts) across three seasons. White has registered 100 tackles, 7.5 sacks, 9 passes defended and two forced fumbles between the Patriots and 49ers.

–Field Level Media

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych said on Monday a helmet he has used in training at the Milan Cortina Games with images of compatriots killed during the war in Ukraine cannot be used in Olympic competition after being told by the IOC that it violates a rule on political statements.

The helmet, which depicts several athletes killed in the war — some of whom were Heraskevych’s friends — will now likely have to be shelved following a visit from an IOC representative.

Heraskevych, who is his country’s flag bearer at the Games, said Toshio Tsurunaga, the International Olympic Committee representative in charge of communications between athletes, national Olympic committees and the IOC, had gone to the Athletes’ Village to inform him.

“He said it’s because of Rule 50,” Heraskevych told Reuters. Rule 50.2 of the Olympic Charter states that “no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.”

The decision to wear the helmet in Milan earned praise from Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Writing on Telegram, Zelenskiy thanked Heraskevych “for reminding the world of the price of our struggle.

“This truth cannot be inconvenient, inappropriate, or called a ‘political act at a sporting event.’ It is a reminder to the whole world of what modern Russia is,” Zelenskiy said. “And it is precisely this that reminds everyone of the global role of sports and the historic mission of the Olympic movement — it’s all about peace and for the sake of life. Ukraine remains faithful to this. Russia proves otherwise.”

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Earlier on Monday the IOC said it had not received any official request from the Ukrainian Olympic Committee to use the helmet in competition, which starts on Feb. 12.

“To date, the IOC has not received any request from the NOC (National Olympic Committee) for the athlete to wear the helmet in the competition,” an IOC spokesperson said. “Once a submission is made, the IOC will look at the request.”

Heraskevych told Reuters the helmet depicted teenage weightlifter Alina Perehudova, boxer Pavlo Ischenko, ice hockey player Oleksiy Loginov, actor and athlete Ivan Kononenko, diver and coach Mykyta Kozubenko, shooter Oleksiy Habarov and dancer Daria Kurdel.

Heraskevych, who held up a “No War in Ukraine” sign at the Beijing 2022 Olympics days before Russia’s invasion, had said he intended to respect Olympic rules prohibiting political demonstrations at venues while still ensuring Ukraine’s plight remained visible during the Games.

SPORT AND POLITICS

Following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus were largely barred from international sport, but the IOC has since backed their gradual return under strict conditions.

Moscow and Minsk say sport should remain separate from international conflicts.

There have been a number of incidents over the years where athletes have protested on the field of play or on the medals podium.

The most famous case dates back to the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City when U.S. sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised black-gloved fists during the 200 meters medal ceremony to protest racial injustice in the U.S.

That led to their expulsion from the Games, although Smith kept his gold medal and Carlos his bronze.

More recently, at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, Afghan breakdancer Manizha Talash, a member of the refugee Olympic team, was disqualified after wearing a cape with the slogan “Free Afghan Women” during a pre-qualifying competition.

However, there have also been cases where athletes and teams escaped punishment when their action was not deemed political.

Australia’s women’s soccer team unfurled a flag of the first peoples of Australia at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 but, while it was not one of the recognized flags of participating nations at the Games, the team was not sanctioned.

Two Chinese cycling medalists who wore badges featuring the head of their country’s former leader Mao Zedong on the podium in Tokyo escaped with a warning.

–Reuters, special to Field Level Media