Melvin Council Jr. has been granted a preliminary injunction against the NCAA, making him immediately eligible, according to a ruling from Judge Daniel Doyle in the New York Supreme Court’s 7th Judicial District.
The court document submitted on Tuesday morning does not set a timeframe for the injunction. Instead, it states, “Plaintiff’s counsel shall draft an order and circulate it to opposing counsel prior to submission to the Court by October 27, 2026.” Judge Doyle’s ruling also bars the NCAA from retroactively penalizing Council or any school that may choose to put him on its roster.
Council is suing the NCAA for an extra year, arguing that his time in JUCO should not count against his NCAA eligibility and that his waiver process earlier this spring was not heard and was instead canceled. Council argues that — because he was accused of a crime — he was not able to attend a four year college and attended Monroe College instead. Council was exonerated for the crime he was accused of.
Here are some key comments from Judge Doyle in his ruling.
“Council pleads his case for an additional year of eligibility, noting that his time in JUCO occurred as a result of having been wrongly accused of a crime and noting that the plea deal was subsequently overturned, and he was fully exonerated. … It is a heartfelt plea that recites his situation both at the time he attended JUCO and presently, acknowledges the value of the five-year eligibility rule, and requests consideration as he believes his situation does not fit within the spirit of the rules promulgated by the NCAA.”
“This further confirms that the NCAA did not make a merit-based review of KU’s Waiver Request submitted for Council’s eligibility based on the circumstances highlighted by KU and Council in the Waiver Request. All of the evidence before the Court, including Defendants’ submissions, indicates that the NCAA did not take any steps to review the Waiver Request in light of the other circumstances raised in the request: the circumstances of extraordinary or extreme hardship attendant to Council’s criminal charges, plea agreement, and subsequent exoneration.”
“Could the NCAA have invoked their Bylaws to grant Council an additional year of eligibility in light of the circumstances outside his control emanating from the subsequently vacated guilty plea? Absolutely, yes.”
This article originates at 247sports.com.
