Jan 27, 2026
3 min read
Charles Bediaco can continue to play at Alabama after a hearing on his request for a preliminary injunction was postponed.Meanwhile, the NCAA has filed a motion asking the judge overseeing the case to recuse himself, according to AL.com.
A hearing on Alabama center Charles Bediako's request for a preliminary injunction has been postponed due to weather, a court report said, resulting in the extension of his temporary restraining order (TRO) for another 10 days.
Meanwhile, the NCAA filed a motion asking the judge presiding over the case to recuse himself, AL.com reported.
Bediako received a 10-day temporary suspension last week that allowed him to play immediately at Alabama and barred the NCAA from punishing the school in any way, with a full hearing scheduled for Tuesday.However, the parties held a virtual hearing on Monday because one of the NCAA's attorneys, Taylor Askew, was unable to attend Tuesday's hearing due to the weather.
Judge James H. Roberts extended the temporary suspension by 10 days after the NCAA agreed there was "good cause" to extend it. The initial suspension, which was issued Wednesday, is expected to remain in effect for 10 days or until the appeal is heard.
A full hearing will be scheduled at a later date.
AL.com reported that the NCAA request for Roberts to withdraw, filed Monday, later asked the judge to try himself because of questions about his motives.Roberts and his wife are listed as active donors on the Alabama Crimson Tide Foundation website, which supports university athletics.
"The NCAA has confidence in the conduct of the court and does not at this time argue that the court is objectively biased, biased or prejudicial," the NCAA wrote in its filing, according to AL.com."Similarly, the NCAA does not claim that the court was motivated by any objective bias in issuing the temporary restraining order. Rather, the NCAA referred the case to this court because of public media scrutiny and public speculation surrounding the court's A Lab and its relationship with university students.""It is believed that the decision-making process has created an inappropriate image."
Bediako played in his first college game in nearly three years Saturday against Tennessee, scoring 13 points in a 79-73 loss.Alabama hosts Missouri on Tuesday before traveling to Florida on Sunday.
The 6-foot-11 center played two seasons at Alabama in 2021-22 and 2022-23 before leaving early in the NBA draft.He's undrafted and has never played in the NBA, spending the last three seasons with three different G League teams before hitting last weekend's Motor City Cruiser.
He asked the NCAA for immediate reinstatement after denying Alabama's request for reinstatement.
Unlike NCAA-eligible ex-pros — including Baylor's James Nagy, the first player in the draft to be eligible to play in men's college basketball — Badiaco signed a two-way contract with several NBA teams, and the NCAA has previously stated that as limiting his eligibility.
Dan Gavitt, the NCAA's senior vice president of basketball, released a statement Friday saying that anyone who remains in the NBA draft after the waiver date, which Bediaco did, voids his remaining college eligibility.
“If these rules are not enforced, it will create an unstable environment for student-athletes, schools building next season’s roster, and the NBA,” Gavitt said in a statement.
Bediako averaged 6.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in his first two seasons at Alabama.
