Alex Afari appears to have cleared a major hurdle in his fight for another year of college football, with his attorney saying the Kentucky Court of Appeals denied the NCAA’s emergency motion in the Louisville case.
“The Kentucky Court of Appeals has denied the NCAA’s emergency motion paving the way for our client Alex Afari Jr. to play tomorrow,” attorney Abe Mashni said on social media.
The ruling comes after the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals stayed the order from a Colorado judge that had allowed class of 2022 athletes to be eligible for a fifth year. That decision had knocked Afari off the practice field, forcing him to go through the state court route to try to regain eligibility. He was not part of the original Louisville lawsuit that handed a number of athletes another year, but he was added on Wednesday and is now officially eligible after the NCAA’s appeal was denied.
Kentucky coach Will Stein was already treading carefully earlier in the week when asked about Afari’s status. On Wednesday, Stein said Afari had been around the program throughout fall camp, but added that the staff was still waiting on more clarity before feeling fully comfortable using him.
“He's been working with us throughout fall camp,” Stein said on Wednesday. “We're waiting for a few more things to be answered and if those get answered, then we'll proceed.
The head coach was then asked about those things he is still waiting to get answers on. “Just with everything else, there are still some things that have to happen I think, for us to feel really confident about playing him.”
Even with the latest court development, there’s still a chance Kentucky keeps Afari on the sideline in Week 1 against Youngstown State as the program sorts through whatever remaining issues are out there. Still, the legal win is a big one for Afari, whose case had some real weight because he participated in rookie mini camp with the Green Bay Packers but never signed a contract, which would have counted against him.
For now, the next checkpoint is the release of Kentucky’s official 2026 roster, which should make it clear whether Afari is fully in the mix for the season. Given Stein’s caution so far, there may still be more boxes to check before anyone knows for sure whether Afari will be on the field.
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