When Niagara County Supreme Court justice Frank A. Sedita III was reading his decision into the record, attorney Brandon Leopoldus slightly turned around and signaled a thumbs up to Roddy Gayle Jr., who was sitting in the front row of the courthouse.
Leopoldus could hear that the judge was siding with Gayle and granting the former Lewiston-Porter High School product and Niagara Falls native another year of college eligibility, Thursday at the Niagara Falls Supreme Court.
The decision came after Gayle and his attorneys filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, alleging a breach of contract and material damages if Gayle was not granted a fifth year of competition.
Gayle and his lawyers were arguing that the NCAA bylaw adopted in June altered eligibility to five seasons in five years rather than four in five years. Gayle had only played four in four seasons when he declared for the NBA Draft in April. While Gayle played for the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Summer League, he technically didn’t sign a professional contract.
There have been several similar cases to Gayle’s that provided precedent. A July ruling in Tennessee granted a fifth year to 19 athletes, while an Indiana ruling Wednesday granted eligibility to over 100 athletes.
Now, the case has gotten closer to a conclusion with Sedita III deciding to stay the injunction, allowing Gayle to play for the University of Michigan this upcoming season.
He is returning to the place where he won the school’s first national championship since 1989.
During the Wolverines championship winning season, Gayle averaged 7.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. During his four years with Ohio State and Michigan, Gayle averaged 8.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.
“(I am) extremely excited to go out there and compete for another year,” Gayle said. “I’ve had a long month or so practicing with the team, getting to know the guys. It’s been very fun, and I’m excited for the season.”
In his ruling, Sedita III noted that while using precedent, the NCAA would not be hurt by Gayle receiving another year of eligibility whereas if he was not given the fifth year, Gayle would suffer irreparable injury.
It was a thought that was echoed by Leopolodus, who in his opening statement referenced a similar case involving NCAA Division III men’s basketball player Benjamin Pierce, in which Pierce was also arguing to get a fifth year at the NCAA Division I level.
Gayle’s case was helped by receiving a temporary restraining order allowing him to play this season for the Wolverines.
“It helps because that’s part of the battle and once you have the TRO,” Leopolodus said. “… It gives you that baseline that the judge is already seeing what you’re trying to put out on the paper. … It tells us that the judge is seeing the case that we’re trying to develop and that they’ve comprehended enough of it to say for at least two weeks we’re going to hold this the way that we want to.”
Since receiving the preliminary injunction, Gayle has been practicing with the Wolverines and went alongside his teammates to Lithuania and Croatia this summer for a series of games that he did not participate in.
Now that he has been allowed to officially join the Michigan roster, Gayle will be tasked with helping to replace the production that the team lost in the transfer portal and to the NBA Draft. But he is ready to fill that role for the young team.
When Michigan tips off its season, Gayle will be one of three graduate students on the Wolverines roster alongside J.P. Estrella and Jalen Reed.
Now that the case has moved in his favor, Gayle will be returning to Ann Arbor with haste to be at practice Friday morning. He is returning to Michigan to try to help increase his draft stock while playing a bigger role on a national contender.
With this extra season, Gayle is looking to show NBA teams that his three point shot has increased in efficiency from where it was last year when he shot 31% from distance.
“I went out there and did the best I can and I know that this year, the team is going to ask me to do a little bit more,” Gayle said. “… So I feel like with an extra year, an extra year of playing under (new head) coach Mike (Boynton Jr.), playing with my teammates, it’d be great preparation for the next level.”
While he was excited with the result, Leopololdus knows that the case is not over and that the NCAA will, in all likelihood, appeal the ruling within 30 days. If the governing body does appeal, the lawyers, Gayle and the appeals court will meet virtually on Nov. 9.
It would mean that Gayle’s season is put on pause temporarily after the first two games of the season.
“I don’t think the NCAA is going to settle,” Leopoldus said. “I don’t think they’re just going to roll over. They haven’t rolled over yet. I don’t expect them to now. For them, I think it’s just a philosophical dispute. They’re not bad people. They just have a rule here that … it isn’t what it appears to be for them. And if they file an appeal we’ll answer. But we’re through the hardest part now.”