There was no ruling Tuesday from U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey during a hearing in the Jimmori Robinson et al v. National Collegiate Athletic Association in the Northern District Court of West Virginia.
However, a lawyer representing the NCAA revealed potentially fateful news regarding Robinson — one of four players seeking eligibility on the Mountaineers in 2025 — when he claimed the prolific pass rusher is academically ineligible as a result of not satisfying progress toward graduation requirements from his time at UTSA.
That claim was not mentioned in the NCAA’s brief opposing the lawsuit, which was submitted August 12.
If true, Robinson’s college career would effectively be over regardless of if a desired injunction were to be granted.
“We were aware of an academic situation, but at this point in time, the only thing I’m going to tell you is my daddy told me a long time ago there was never a sheet of paper cut so thin it didn’t have two sides,” said James “Rocky” Gianola, who along with nephew John Gianola, comprise the legal team representing the four players. “That’s all I can say right now.
“The NCAA’s had something in front of them for a good while. They chose today to announce that they were going to rule on that in a certain way as a result of this hearing. I’m probably just going to leave it at that.”
A spokesperson from Bailey’s office confirmed the U.S. District Judge would not rule on the matter Tuesday, which remains under advisement. Both sides deliberated for an hour-plus inside a Wheeling courtroom.
“I’m never going into a game or any competition thinking I was going to lose, so I’ve never handled a case I thought I was going to lose,” Rocky Gianola said. “I’ve had my ass kicked a few times, but I never go in thinking that. It’s always hard to tell, but I think we put a pretty strong case on. We had some very strong arguments. This is not an easy type of argument. It’s a case that involves antitrust and involves injunction, which is an extraordinary remedy. So the burdens are extremely high on that. My nephew John argued it and I thought he did a very good job. I like our chances.”
Robinson was with the Roadrunners from 2021-24. He spent one season at Dodge City Community College, and the next, which was canceled, at Monroe Community College.
Robinson, running back Tye Edwards, safety Justin Harrington and wide receiver Jeffrey Weimer are the plaintiffs pursuing eligibility in 2025 after each of the four was previously denied a waiver. All four spent multiple years at the junior college level beginning in 2018 or 2019.
Each case will be ruled on individually.
“The judge has total discretion when it comes to that,” Gianola said. “We could get all four, none or anything in between.”
Gianola expects a ruling in the near future.
“I would like to think that it’ll be sometime tomorrow, because the nature of an injunction is that there’s irreparable harm occurring the longer this goes on,” he said. “Judge Bailey is very good at analyzing not only the law, but the facts and offering a very sound decision.”
Robinson was thought to be a major addition to the Mountaineers. He was named American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year last season while starring at UTSA, finishing with 43 tackles, 10.5 sacks, 17 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.
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.
The NCAA is being represented by Charleston-based attorneys Ben Bailey and Christopher Smith.
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