Charles Bediako’s return to Alabama has caused quite a stir in college basketball. Seemingly, every coach in the country has had something to say about it, and some of those comments have turned up the heat on the Crimson Tide’s SEC slate.
Todd Golden, in particular, didn’t pull any punches when discussing the Bediako situation ahead of his Florida Gators matchup with Nate Oats and the Tide in Gainesville on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET.
Todd Golden called out Nate Oats and Alabama over Charles Bediako’s return
“They were able to finagle the situation where they got a judge in Alabama that is actually a donor at Alabama to write a temporary restraining order to allow this guy to play games in Alabama,” Golden said on his weekly radio show last week. “I think there’s a lot of people that aren’t necessarily happy about it and don’t agree with it, but with all this intervention from judges, there’s only so much the league can do, there’s only so much other member schools in the league can do, and we just need some people to stand up and start taking a stand.”
Todd Golden on the Charles Bediako situation:
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) January 23, 2026
“They were able to finagle it where they got a judge that’s actually an Alabama donor to write a temporary restraining order… We’re gonna beat them anyways. If he plays, we’ll beat them anyways.” 😳 pic.twitter.com/VHQb66zUil
Then, Golden closed with the line that Nate Oats will surely have heard by now, “We’re gonna beat them anyways. If he plays, we’ll beat them anyways.”
While it is certainly true that the original judge who wrote the TRO was an Alabama donor, having him recused from the case, as the NCAA did this week, likely won’t change much. What the NCAA would likely need to overturn the ruling would be for the case to be appealed to a federal court, and that certainly won’t happen before Sunday’s matchup.
In a 90-64 win over Missouri on Tuesday night, Bediako finished with 14 points and six rebounds in just 18 minutes. Alabama is 1-1 since his return to the court after spending three seasons in the NBA G League.
Golden did offer the argument that many have against Bediako coming back to college basketball after declaring for the 2023 NBA Draft.
Todd Golden's argument may not hold up for long
“This guy (Bediako) had a great opportunity. He was at Alabama for two years. He played there. He was there during the NIL era. He was aware of what he was giving up by declaring to go to the draft,” Golden argued. “He stayed in past the date. It’s always been if you stay in and you sign a contract, you’re done. So, I think this is a slippery slope.”
It certainly is a slippery slope, but maybe not in the way Golden means. From a judge’s perspective, what is the actual difference between college basketball and even the NBA itself? Both offer pay-for-play deals that are worth millions of dollars.
If you strip away the veil of amateurism that the NCAA has held over the sport for so many years, legally speaking, what is the argument for preventing players from leaving one pay-for-play league to join another? Especially when college athletes aren’t employees and don’t have a union or collective bargaining agreement to agree upon those requirements.
Until the players become employees and can collectively bargain, the NCAA will have a tough time in court, so the slippery slope isn’t necessarily heading towards more Bediako cases; it’s heading towards doing the one thing the NCAA has always feared, making their athletes employees.