Sometimes common sense is the answer, but in Alabama athletics, that is not always the case. In Nate Oats’ attempt to bring back Charles Bediako, a player who left the Crimson Tide in 2023 for the NBA only to see his dreams fail, he and Bediako’s representation used almost every excuse possible.
The player’s attorney argued that without the basketball scholarship, he wouldn’t be able to get an education. He had that opportunity the first time, when he was on scholarship, but gave it up for his professional dreams.
Oats argued that players coming over from Europe were the same, except for one factor: they had not foregone their college eligibility after being given a chance.
On Monday, the Crimson Tide were hit with what they tend to handle the worst: the truth. Judge Daniel Pruet denied an injunction that ruled Bediako ineligible to play for Oats’ squad for the rest of the season. This comes after the original judge, who just so happens to be a major Alabama booster, ruled in Bediako's favor in the first place. The judge eventually had to recuse himself from the case, but not before Auburn head coach Steven Pearl called it, as he put it, a “slippery slope” for former professional players returning to the college ranks.
Charles Bediako's presence puts an entire foul smell on Alabama's season
On Saturday, Bediako played a key role in the Crimson Tide’s victory in Neville Arena over Auburn, scoring 12 points in the 96-92 Alabama win. While Dick Vitale, who has certainly heard worse over his 60 years of broadcasting basketball, clutched his pearls as the Auburn crowd chanted, “G-League Drop-Out!,” the Tigers were going against a player who, in the end, would be deemed ineligible less than 48 hours later.
But that’s how Alabama rolls. They are used to getting their way because the SEC office is in Birmingham, just a short car ride from Tuscaloosa and a city dominated by powerful Alabama alums. Two years ago, Oats defended a player, Brandon Miller, who was allegedly involved in a murder, only for the Tuscaloosa County courts to see the otherside despite evidence. And when another team is accused of cheating, much like Auburn with Cam Newton in 2010, the Crimson Tide faithful can’t keep to themselves, with high-ranking people in the athletic departmet to greet the quarterback when he took the field at Bryant-Denny Stadium with a rendition of “Take the Money and Run,” only to blame and fire an intern a week later for the music choice.
Now, the Crimson Tide faces a conundrum in the fact that they played an ineligible player for five games for the sake of, well, hoping to win those five games. If their goal was to get a few wins, congratulations. If it was to set up a man for failure by allowing him to return to his glory days in college, they also achieved that, just for a few what will now be deemed worthless victories.
Oats will cry all he wants, but with the NCAA speaking out in favor of the decision, it is going to take some major maneuvering for Bediako to suit up in a Crimson Tide uniform again.
Common sense finally prevails.