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Bruce Pearl calls out Nate Oats on Bediako situation: 'I think it was selfish'
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- Bruce Pearl calls out Nate Oats on Bediako situation: 'I think it was selfish'
Bruce Pearl may have retired before the 2025-26 college basketball season , but that doesn't mean he's done throwing jabs at his old foe, Nate Oats.
The former Auburn coach joined TNT during a segment on Tuesday, Feb. 10, to discuss former Alabama player Charles Bediako's injunction against the NCAA being denied on Monday, Feb. 9, ending Bediako's second go-around with the Crimson Tide.
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Pearl took exception to Oats' recent comments about the Bediako situation.
REQUIRED READING: One SEC conspiracy theory dies after Alabama's Charles Bediako loses in court
"What it tells me is that Nate doesn't really care about the SEC. He doesn't care about the NCAA," Pearl said. "You're going to care about your student-athletes? That's fine. But you remember this conference, and you remember the NCAA. What about the rest of the teams? What about the rest of the players? Why should those five teams have had to play against an ineligible player?"
"I think it was selfish, and I think it was wrong."
Tuscaloosa County Judge Daniel Pruet denied Bediako's motion for a temporary injunction against the NCAA to continue playing on Feb. 9. That decision overturned the temporary restraining order by Judge James Roberts Jr. that Bediako received on Jan. 21 against the NCAA that made him immediately eligible.
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Bediako originally played for Alabama from 2021-23 before appearing in 82 games across three seasons in the G League. He appeared in five games for the Crimson Tide in 2027, averaging 10 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game in 21.6 minutes.
He had 12 points in Alabama's 96-92 win over Auburn on Saturday, Feb. 7. He also appeared in games against Tennessee, Missouri, Florida and Texas A&M, with the Crimson Tide going 3-2 in that span.
Despite the widespread criticism, Oats did not back down from Alabama's decision to add Bediako to the roster and play him.
"100% it was worth it," Oats said on Tuesday, Feb. 10. "I would do the same thing 100 times out of 100 for any of our guys that it made sense to do it with."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bruce Pearl calls Nate Oats 'selfish' about Charles Bediako situation
