U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey has ruled in favor of four football players at West Virginia University, granting a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the NCAA that permits all four eligibility for the upcoming 2025 football season.
Plaintiffs Jimmori Robinson, Tye Edwards, Justin Harrington and Jeffrey Weimer filed suit on August 1 claiming antitrust violations under both national and West Virginia law and a breach of contract that argued the players are third-party beneficiaries of NCAA membership agreements.
Edwards, Harrington, Robinson and Weimer previously played multiple seasons at the junior college level beginning in 2018 or 2019. All four were previously denied a waiver in an effort to gain eligibility in 2025.
“I haven’t fully digested the whole thing. He did a very detailed analysis of sort of the legal landscape involving college athletes and the antitrust,” said John Gianola, who along with uncle James “Rocky Gianola, comprise the legal team that represented the four players. “He agreed with us. It’s important to know this is not a final ruling. This is a preliminary injunction. He may have invited another court, the Supreme Court or Fourth Circuit Court to weigh in on the issue. He would not be the first judge to do that. But it seemed he largely agreed with us that these are antitrust violations.”
On Tuesday, legal teams from both sides deliberated for an hour-plus inside a Wheeling courtroom in the Northern District Court of West Virginia, with a legal representative from the NCAA claiming Robinson was not academically eligible.
“There’s another piece to Jimmori, but there’s always two sides to a sheet of paper, and sometimes when you flip that paper over, there’s a lot more information than you thought was available,” Rocky Gianola said.
Rocky Gianola had expressed confidence Tuesday night that a ruling in favor of the plaintiffs would come in the near future from Bailey, and less than 24 hours later, that proved true.
With that, the NCAA is enjoined from enforcing a five-year rule on Robinson, Edwards, Harrington and Weimer, and has been ordered to grant waivers precluding them from competing in the 2025-26 season based on time spent at junior college.
“If I were a betting man, my bet is they’d appeal to the Fourth Circuit like they did to the Seventh circuit in another case, and they’ll seek to overturn this injunction,” said John Gianola.
In a fifth injunction granted by Bailey, the judge said the rule of restitution will not be applicable, meaning the players are permitted to play without concern for penalty in the event of an overturned ruling down the line.
“That’s a huge piece, because without that, you have essentially a hollow victory,” Rocky Gianola said.
Robinson, a bandit, was named American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year last season while starring at UTSA. He finished with 43 tackles, 10.5 sacks, 17 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.
Whether or not Robinson is academically eligible is a separate matter, but if so, he can provide a strong presence off the edge. In the order signed by Bailey, under a part labeled conclusion, it states, “The NCAA is also ordered to declare Jimmori Robinson, Jeffrey Weimer, Tye Edwards and Justin Harrington eligible to play for West Virginia University in the 2025-2026 season.”
Edwards spent one season at UTSA and the most recent two at Northern Iowa. He rushed for a total of 1,583 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2023 and 2024.
Harrington, a safety, was at Oklahoma for four seasons and Washington for another.
Weimer, a wide receiver, played at both UNLV and Idaho State.
“It’s a victory for these kids to give them an opportunity they otherwise wouldn’t have,” Rocky Gianola said. “There’s still some work to be done. We’re working on that, but I was really happy for these kids. They’re good kids and they’re working hard and I hope they get an opportunity to showcase their talents.”