Nate Oats Reacts To The Latest Charles Bediako Ruling, Alabama Releases Statement

During his radio show this week, Alabama head coach Nate Oats had the following response to Charles Bediako's injunction being denied. Per Alabama reporter Mike Rodak:

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Nate Oats to his "Hey Coach" weekly radio show on Charles Bediako's injunction being denied: "Obviously super disappointed. Disappointed in the whole thing, to be honest with you. I didn't think it ever should have gotten to court. I thought the NCAA should have made him eligible based on over a hundred current college basketball players -- former professionals, most of them over in Europe. Some in the G-League. Guys being drafted. Rights owned by NBA teams, as in James Nnaji being eligible to play.

"I thought it was kind of a no-brainer with the NCAA. Then I didn't think it would much of an issue. The NCAA hasn't really changed much without courts forcing them to change. I thought the courts would see in the inconsistencies in the rulings and agree with Charles' attorneys."

Oats, continued: "To me, the NCAA's point of why Charles shouldn't be eligible was all these rules that they have, but they're not applying those rules to all these other players they've made eligible. To me, it was very disappointing in the whole case. Disappointing for Charles."

Oats, continued: "Disappointed in the ruling. Disappointed in the system -- both the NCAA, the courts, the whole thing, just with all the inconsistencies with who's eligible and who's not. It just seems like the European international players are being given preferential treatment over the Americans. It moreso happened today. Hopefully, at some point, somebody is going to win a ruling like this. It wasn't here today. At some point somebody will win one and change the system. Because that's how it has to get changed in the NCAA. They don't make changes on their own, typically."

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The University of Alabama also released a statement regarding the ruling:

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