NBA scouts from around 15 potential lottery teams received good news yesterday when an Ohio judge blocked a state ruling that stripped basketball sensation LeBron James of his eligibility.
The judge ruled that the 6-8 phenom who has attracted the attention of every basketball expert in the world must sit out one more game before joining his team mates as part of his decision to allow James to take the court once again, but this does not mean the ineligibility has been lifted. Tom Withers of Associated Press states that St. Vincent-St. Mary has four games left before the playoffs, and the school can decide which game James will miss.
Summit County Judge James Williams ordered the school to tell James by noon Thursday which game he will miss, and he has scheduled a preliminary hearing for Feb. 19 when he will decide whether to grant a permanent injunction or go to trial.
"Neither side is going to be happy," Williams said. "There are a number of issues the court wants to hear."
James was not in attendance during the hearing, but his attorney, Fred Nance, argued that his client did nothing wrong when he accepted the jerseys which caused him to miss one game thus far.
"All LeBron did was receive a gift from a friend as congratulations for his academic achievements," Nance said. "Had LeBron wished to capitalize on his fame, the recompense could be in the millions of dollars."
However, the Ohio High School Athletic Association found that the store gave James the Gale Sayers and Wes Unseld jerseys in exchange for posing for pictures to be displayed on its walls. The movement came just four days after the athletic association cleared James of any wrongdoing for accepting a $50,000 sport utility vehicle as an 18th birthday gift from his mother.
James has continued to practice with his team mates during the controversy, and the school is also defending James in the belief that the punishment is too severe. In being punished James? team, the Fighting Irish, were also forced to forfeit a Jan. 25 victory as well as losing their star player, a punishment the team is also trying to get overturned.
"LeBron made a mistake and accepts responsibility," James Burdon, chairman of the school's board of trustees, said. "He's apologized for the pain he's caused others. However, he has not committed a crime, nor has he consciously hurt anyone."