A judge in Alabama on Monday granted former Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt a preliminary injunction against the NCAA.
According to 247 Sports, the injunction sought to prevent the NCAA from enforcing its six-year "show cause" order against Pruitt. The show cause order was one of several penalties enforced against Pruitt for infractions the NCAA deemed he committed while helming the Vols.
Dekalb County judge Andrew Hairston said the benefits of the injunction to Pruitt outweighed the hardship it would impose on the NCAA. The order prevents the NCAA from enforcing its show cause order or interfering with Pruitt's employment opportunities.
Pruitt filed a the injunction in October as part of a $100 million lawsuit against the NCAA that argues the NCAA's penalties are preventing high-level college teams from hiring him.
Jacksonville State was able to hire Pruitt as a part-time analyst after the school petitioned the NCAA to do so. Which the NCAA granted.
Pruitt's agent, Ed Marynowitz of CAA, signed an affidavit filed earlier this month that stated, "multiple institutions and programs have expressed interest in Coach Pruitt's services and have acknowledged his coaching abilities and qualifications. However, representatives and coaches with these same institutions have indicated that the Show Cause Order makes hiring him extremely problematic." No specific schools were identified.
The NCAA argued that an Alabama judge does not have jurisdiction over its infractions matters, asserting that the court should not interfere with internal affairs and decisions of athletics associations.
The NCAA also argued that Pruitt didn't need the injunction because the organization had already granted Jacksonville State's request to hire him.
Hairston further wrote in his Monday injunction ruling, "A reasonable-minded juror could conclude that the COI's infractions process was procedurally and substantively deficient. ... This lack of transparency, due process and fairness lends to the conclusion that the Plaintiff has at least a reasonable likelihood of success at trial."
Hairston has ordered both parties to return to mediation.
