Wednesday was a somewhat monumental day in the sports world, as a temporary restraining order was granted, eliminating the rule which requires multi-time transfers to sit out a year if they have not yet graduated.
Here’s where things stand:
The TRO Conditions
The TRO conditions play a huge part in this. First, all multi-time transfers are eligible to play per the ruling. Another component to this is the timeliness.
First, it’s to note who brought the case to court. Battle had his own lawsuit, and so did West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey along with six other attorney generals from other states. The case heard Wednesday was Ohio vs NCAA, as Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost led the group. Battle’s personal suit was combined with the states’ suit.
Judge John P. Bailey granted the TRO, and also set another hearing on Dec. 27, meaning there will be a two-week period this rule goes into effect. This is where things get complicated, stemming from a change of the rules for 14 days, when after that period, we could return to what was the norm prior to today.
Restitution
A big part of what stems from the next two weeks is this idea of restitution. The NCAA has long been on the side of trying to retroactively punish, but Bailey’s ruling said that restitution will not be allowed.
“This Court will enjoin NCAA from enforcing the Rule of Restitution against student-athletes and their respective institutions,” Bailey said in his ruling.
For West Virginia’s sake, this means RaeQuan Battle can play in WVU’s next three games which are in this two-week period. It also means Noah Farrakhan can play in this period for the Mountaineers as well.
This then means if both of them play, but then in two weeks, Wednesday’s ruling is reversed, then Battle, Farrakhan, and West Virginia, will not face any sort of punishment for them seeing the court, and they will not have to vacate wins.
What happens if they play and the rule is changed? Do they use their eligibility?
A big question looming over everyone’s head was what happens if they play, the rule changes back, and then Battle and Farrakhan just wasted a season of eligibility on three games. Well, they will not have the eligibility used, according to the NCAA.
Amanda Christovich of Front Office Sports asked this exact question to the NCAA. Their response was if the ruling is overturned in two weeks, the athlete will not lose a year of eligibility.
This seemingly gives WVU the green light to play both Battle and Farrakhan, sensing there will be no repercussions if either of them see the court over WVU’s next three games and the ruling is reversed. It also takes out the obvious consideration of risking a years worth of eligibility for just three games.
WVU’s Response
West Virginia’s response was somewhat as expected. They said they are going to meet with student-athletes as well as legal counsel to determine the next steps.
Their full statement from West Virginia University Athletics can be read here
What’s Next?
It seems as though the next steps are to get Battle on the court. He is legally eligible to play on Saturday against UMass. Same goes with Farrakhan. As far as the court is concerned, there is another hearing on Dec. 27, to decide a more permanent ruling on this case.
And for when we are set to get more answers from WVU? That could come Thursday around noon as interim head coach Josh Eilert had a previously scheduled press conference.
