The SEC might be home turf for Alabama basketball, but that didn’t stop conference commissioner Greg Sankey from weighing in on a legal battle that’s put Crimson Tide center Charles Bediako in the spotlight.
Sankey’s affidavit made waves Thursday afternoon when it was included as an exhibit in the NCAA’s legal filing ahead of Bediako’s injunction hearing. In it, the commissioner didn’t mince words-he called on the court to uphold the NCAA’s eligibility rules, describing them as “essential to the integrity of college sports” and critical to both the educational mission of college athletics and the opportunities they provide for athletes now and in the future.
It’s a strong stance, especially given that it directly impacts a player from one of the SEC’s flagship programs.
Alabama head coach Nate Oats responded to the situation Friday, just hours after Bediako appeared in court. And while Oats didn’t name Sankey directly, his frustration with the broader eligibility landscape was clear.
“We're really disappointed with all the eligibility issues and inconsistencies in the entire system,” Oats said. “I'm really disappointed that Charles seems to be the one where all the focus is because there's plenty of others who have been made eligible…”
Oats didn’t dive into the specifics of the legal proceedings, saying it wasn’t his place to comment on the court case. But his message was loud and clear: there’s a growing sense of frustration inside the Alabama program about how eligibility decisions are being made-and who they’re affecting most.
Sankey’s affidavit also pushed back on the idea of changing the rules midstream, arguing that doing so would be unfair to programs that have followed the current framework and haven’t “sought to add professional athletes to their rosters.” He also raised concerns about how such changes could impact opportunities for high school players trying to break into the college game.
As of now, there’s no resolution on Bediako’s eligibility. His injunction hearing wrapped without a decision, leaving the door open for him to potentially suit up in Alabama’s upcoming showdown against Auburn.
For now, the Tide are left in limbo-caught between the courtroom and the court, with one of their key big men at the center of a much larger debate about the future of college athletics.