On April 26, St. John’s Men’s Basketball players Chris Ledlum and Jordan Dingle filed a lawsuit with the Queens Supreme Court against the NCAA in an attempt to regain the year of eligibility the two lost as a result of the Ivy League canceling their 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Ledlum and Dingle both spent four years in the Ivy League, at Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania, respectively, before transferring to St. John’s in the summer of 2023. 

Per court documents obtained by The Torch, the two are suing for “injunctive relief against the NCAA for Violation of Section 1 of the Donnelly Act; Violation of the New York State Human Rights Law Executive Section 290; and Violation of the New York State Education Law Right to Pursue Higher Education and Name, Image and Likeness.”

Attorneys Joseph J. DiPalma and Nicholas R. Bonelli’s filing states: “There are dire consequences for student-athletes that the NCAA labels ineligible. Consequences include: loss of scholarship, inhibited professional prospects, and inability to leverage Name, Image, and Likeness (“NIL”) opportunities.”

Both student-athletes applied for eligibility waivers with the NCAA to allow the two to compete in the 2024-25 season which have since been denied. DiPalma and Bonelli argue the applications were denied “despite allowing [Ledlum and Dingle’s] peers that went to institutions that did complete the 2020-21 season the opportunity to do so.”

In addition to fighting for an extra year of eligibility, the attorneys accuse the NCAA of legal wrongdoing. 

“The NCAA and the NCAA member institutions have agreed to unlawfully restrain the ability of Division I college athletes to compete despite facing circumstances beyond an athlete’s control or where the athlete is subject to extraordinary or extreme hardship.”

The lawsuit’s concluding argument affirms: “The actions of the Defendant [NCAA] threaten and constrain Plaintiffs’ [Ledlum, Dingle] ability to access their name, image, and likeness because [of] its arbitrary and capricious decisions denying their eligibility.”

Ledlum and Dingle are forced to act quickly in hopes of retaining their roster spots for the upcoming season. Both have until May 29th to withdraw from the 2024 NBA draft if they are to suit up for the Red Storm next year. 

This is a developing story. The Torch will provide updates as received.