Rutgers transfer sues NCAA in effort to become immediately eligible after being handed suspension
A Rutgers basketball transfer is taking his case to court.
Guard Jeremiah Williams, who transferred into the program from Iowa State this offseason but has remained in eligibility limbo as he awaits a ruling after violating the NCAA's gambling policy, filed a lawsuit against the NCAA on Thursday seeking an injunction to become immediately eligible in time for Saturday's game against Michigan in Ann Arbor, his attorney Kevin Marino confirmed to NJ Advance Media.
The Asbury Park Press was first to report the news.
According to the complaint, which was filed Feb. 1 in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey and obtained by NJ Advance Media, the NCAA handed Williams a 15-game suspension on Wednesday, Jan. 31st. The complaint contends Williams "has already served his 15-game sports-wagering suspension in anticipation of that announcement."
It continues to say that Williams "has sat out all twenty games Rutgers has played this year, the last five while waiting for the NCAA to formally impose the suspension it imposed last evening. He is therefore now eligible to begin playing basketball for Rutgers."
The NCAA's position, per the complaint, is as follows: "The NCAA has taken the position, however, that because its now-unenforceable transfer rule was in effect during the first nine games of the season: (a) those nine games do not count against his sports-wagering suspension; (b) Plaintiff must therefore serve his entire sports-wagering suspension based on games played after December 13, 2023, rather than receive credit for the nine games he sat out before that date; and (c) Plaintiff is therefore not eligible to play beginning with Saturday's game and will not be eligible to play for Rutgers until February 18, 2024."
Essentially, the NCAA is contending that games played prior to December 13, 2023 — when a federal judge in West Virginia issued a temporary restraining order that allowed two-time transfer to become immediately eligible — do not count as timed served for Williams. Rutgers has played 11 games since that date, including Wednesday night's loss to Penn State.
"The NCAA takes that position despite having expressly acknowledged that Plaintiff was ineligible to play in the nine pre-West Virginia Injunction games he sat out by virtue of his sports-wagering suspension," the complaint reads.
Under that ruling, if his injunction is not granted, Williams would be suspended for the Scarlet Knights' next four games and would be able to make his Rutgers debut at Williams Arena against Minnesota on Sunday, February 18.
"This is a good kid who paid the penalty, sat out the games and is now just being denied the opportunity to get on the basketball court," Marino told NJ Advance Media. "It just isn't fair. After having given the NCAA significant opportunities to right that wrong, they ignored that and chose not to do it. They really left us with no choice. It certainly wasn't Mr. William's first choice to go to the court, but they really left us with no other options, so that's where we are. At the end of the day, what they're doing to him is inequitable and unfortunate. At a certain point in time, we had to avail ourselves of our rights, go to court and right that wrong."
In September, Williams pleaded guilty to underage gambling during his time with the Cyclones, admitting to placing wagers while underage using the FanDuel account of someone over the age of 21, and to placing more than $1,000 in wagers while under 21 — the legal gambling age in the state of Iowa.
A criminal complaint released in August by the Story County Attorney's Office, which was obtained by NJ Advance Media via an open records request, said Williams engaged in a scheme to place sports wagers while underage. It accuses Williams of placing 15 bets totaling $1,560 "on college basketball games and events sponsored by the NCAA." It did not indicate that Williams bet on Iowa State athletics events — a key distinction that is seemingly confirmed by the NCAA's decision.
According to the complaint filed by his attorneys on Thursday: "Between December 2022 and February 2023, Williams made a series of small wagers, each $20 or less, on various sporting events. In total, Williams bet approximately $320 on college and professional sporting events."
Whenever Williams returns to the court, he projects to play a major role for the Scarlet Knights (10-10, 2-7), who are playing some of the worst offense in college basketball, this season and beyond.
Williams will have two more years of eligibility remaining after this campaign.
The former Temple guard is a below-average shooter — 42.4% overall, 26.7% on threes, 48.6% on twos, 63.7% on free throws — but he gets to the free throw line often (42.2% free throw rate as a sophomore; higher than any Rutgers guard this decade) and is an above-average creator. He had a top-100 assist rate in both seasons with the Owls; his 31% assist rate as a sophomore would be the highest for a Rutgers guard since Paul Mulcahy in the 2021-22 season (31.2%).
But there is major question of how rusty Williams will be. If he does play against the Wolverines, it would mark his first college basketball game in just under two years; his last appearance came on February 24th, 2022, with Temple. Williams missed the entire 2022-23 season with Iowa State after tearing his Achilles in the preseason.
The Scarlet Knights may not reap the benefits of adding Williams until next season, when he is projected to play a prominent role as a veteran guard alongside the historic recruiting class headlined by five-star freshmen Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey.
"He's a great leader. He has a great voice. He's very vocal on the defensive end," sixth-year senior Aundre Hyatt said of Williams in December. "His offense really surprised me coming into this year. He's a good pick-and-roll guy. He could shoot a little bit and when he gets in the lane, he could finish around the basket. (He'd add) another leader, a great defensive guy. He'd fit right in. Offensively, he's gonna get into the paint. He can pass it, finish around the basket and just having another another big guard on our roster will be great."
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Brian Fonseca may be reached at bfonseca@njadvancemedia.com.
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