By ADAM ZAGORIA
Florida coach Todd Golden weighed in on the controversy surrounding SEC rival Alabama and Charles Bediako and didn’t hold back.
A judge, who turned out to be an Alabama donor, granted a temporary restraining order to the 7-foot Bediako and he is immediately eligible to participate in all the Crimson Tide’s basketball activities and games.
The No. 17 Tide next host Tennessee on Saturday.
It’s not clear if head coach Nate Oats will play Bediako on Saturday or wait until after a scheduled hearing Tuesday to see if the preliminary injunction is granted. Oats is slated to speak to reporters on Friday.
Speaking on “Gator Talk,” Golden wasn’t pleased.
“They were able to finagle the situation where they got a judge in Alabama that is actually a donor at Alabama to, you know, write a temporary restraining order to allow this guy to play games in Alabama,” Golden said of Bediako, who played two years at Alabama before turning pro. He has never played in an NBA game but signed both a two-year NBA contract enabling him to play in the G League and multiple Exhibit-10 contracts. He was most recently a member of the Motor City Cruise, the G League affiliate of the Pistons.
“I think there’s a lot of people that aren’t necessarily happy about it and don’t necessarily agree with it, but with all this intervention from judges, there’s only so much the league can do,” added Golden, who coached the Gators to the NCAA championship last April. “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 stand. And this guy 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. He stayed in past the date that has always been if you stay in and you sign a contract, you’re done. So I think is a slippery slope.”
No. 17 Alabama visits No. 16 Florida on Feb. 1 and Golden was asked if this is a distraction.
“We’re gonna beat ’em anyways,” he said. “If he plays, we’ll beat ’em anyways.”
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