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Tuesday was a victory for St. John’s wing Keyshawn Hall in his case against the NCAA for a fifth year of eligibility.
At the end of a hearing in Queens Supreme Court, Judge Joseph J. Risi opted not to vacate Hall’s temporary restraining order.
That makes him eligible pending a ruling on a preliminary injunction. An exact timeline is uncertain.
The 6-foot-7 Hall, a high-scoring Auburn transfer, is part of the 2022 high school class the NCAA did not include for its new eligibility rule that granted five years of eligibility for players in as many seasons.
Hall’s attorney, Brian Shoot, argued that the NCAA changing the eligibility rule and not including the 2022 class was a breach of contract.
His attorney cited several similar cases in New York state over the past month in which judges have sided with players.
The NCAA tried to use the fact that Hall was previously in a large case in Ohio with other members of the 2022 high school class as an example of “forum shopping” — when a plaintiff files a lawsuit in a specific court or jurisdiction that they believe will provide the most favorable ruling — and moved to have the TRO vacated.
Risi ruled against the college sports governing body in that instance.
“Four judges in the state have ruled, they’ve all ruled the same way, and what was most convincing to those four judges was why?” Shoot said. “If [Hall] entered college, not in 2022, but in 2023, he’d have five years. If he entered in 2024, he’d have five years. If he entered in 2021, he’d have five years because they got an extra year for COVID. Of all the athletes, you selected this [class]. Why? What’s different about them?”