On Thursday, March 5, the NCAA showed how far gone they were over losing control of their own playbook, as they filed an unprecedented appeal over Trinidad Chambliss's preliminary injunction ruling that happened over a month ago.
The NCAA's litigious obsession with Chambliss spans 658 pages, essentially making a case for the Mississippi State Supreme Court to overturn a decision made by a local jurisdiction in February.Â
NCAA's appeal over Trinidad Chambliss has no theeth
Hardly anyone in college football would be unaware of how humiliating it turned out for them the last time they did it in 2021.
The Alston case, a landmark suit led by former West Virginia RB Shawne Alston, argued that limiting benefits to players violates federal antitrust laws.Â
NCAA followed a similar playbook of appealing to the Supreme Court then, and it backfired the worst way possible. It ended up with the Court basically telling them that "amateurism" isn't a magic word that lets you break the law.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh even wrote a concurring opinion that essentially invited more lawsuits to dismantle the rest of the NCAA's rules.
Chambliss's legal camp, Tom Mars, saw the same ordeal playing out yet again for the NCAA this time around.
"Everyone remembers when the NCAA famously appealed to the Supreme Court in the Alston case and got their teeth knocked out by Justice Kavanaugh," Mars confidently stated, responding to the filing. "I expect the NCAA to be spitting chiclets in this appeal as well."
And this was not the only way NCAA was absolutely dragged through the mud on social media for chasing its own tail.
"The literally gave someone a 9th year during the Trinidad Hearing lol," Steven Willis, Locked on Ole Miss podcast host said, reminding everyone of the very fresh ruling for Montana linebacker Solomon Tuliaupupu, who was just granted a 9th year of eligibility for the 2026 season in Februray — the same month the NCAA denied Chambliss's appeal over his waiver denial.
And, of course this is not the first time they have granted a 9th year in eligibility.
It is just a matter of time before the NCAA realises they're digging their own grave the more they make a joke out of themselves in a mess of their own making.