The Wisne v. NCAA athletes who received an injunction to play another college season are now accusing the NCAA of wrongly preventing them from joining teams.
In an emergency motion filed Tuesday, attorneys representing athletes from the high school class of 2022 who finished college this past spring want a court order directing the NCAA to let them join schools even with the transfer portal closed.
Last Friday, U.S. District Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney certified a nationwide class of D-I college athletes who began college play in 2022–2023, completed four years of eligibility by this past spring and are barred from a fifth season. She also granted an injunction that blocks the NCAA from enforcing its eligibility rules as to that category of athletes.
The NCAA has asked Judge Sweeney to stay her ruling pending its appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, though Sweeney isn’t expected to rule on the NCAA’s motion until at least next week. The 10th Circuit, which just received the appeal on Monday, is also unlikely to take any action in the immediate future. In other words, the injunction will remain in effect until at least next week.
Timing matters, given that incoming freshmen athletes typically relocate to campus for workouts before their non-athlete classmates arrive in mid-August. It’s also unclear how many roster spots are even available at schools, and whether coaches would, with the fall semester about to start, drop a freshman or transfer athlete from the team for a more seasoned athlete who is in the Wisne injunctive class.
