KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- A federal judge on Thursday denied Tennessee point guard Zakai Zeigler's request for a preliminary injunction that would allow him to play a fifth season of Division I basketball in five years.
U.S. District Judge Katherine A. Crytzer listened to arguments in a hearing June 6 in Knoxville and entered her denial Thursday morning. She wrote that Zeigler failed to demonstrate he would likely succeed in his argument that the NCAA keeping him from playing a fifth season of Division I basketball is a violation under the Sherman Act.
"This Court is a court of law, not policy," Crytzer wrote in her order denying the injunction. "What the NCAA should do as a policy matter to benefit student athletes is beyond the reach of the Sherman Act and TTPA and by extension, this Court."
The two-time SEC defensive player of the year asked for an injunction when he sued the NCAA on May 20 over its rules limiting him to four seasons in a five-year window as an unlawful restraint of trade under both federal and Tennessee laws.
His lawsuit argues he could earn between $2 million and $4 million with another season.
The NCAA argued Monday that Zeigler's injunction request should be denied because he is asking the court to make him the first athlete in history to play a fifth season in Division I "as a matter of right."
U.S. District Judge Katherine A. Crytzer listened to arguments in a hearing June 6 in Knoxville and entered her denial Thursday morning. She wrote that Zeigler failed to demonstrate he would likely succeed in his argument that the NCAA keeping him from playing a fifth season of Division I basketball is a violation under the Sherman Act.
"This Court is a court of law, not policy," Crytzer wrote in her order denying the injunction. "What the NCAA should do as a policy matter to benefit student athletes is beyond the reach of the Sherman Act and TTPA and by extension, this Court."
The two-time SEC defensive player of the year asked for an injunction when he sued the NCAA on May 20 over its rules limiting him to four seasons in a five-year window as an unlawful restraint of trade under both federal and Tennessee laws.
His lawsuit argues he could earn between $2 million and $4 million with another season.
The NCAA argued Monday that Zeigler's injunction request should be denied because he is asking the court to make him the first athlete in history to play a fifth season in Division I "as a matter of right."
