Former St. Joseph's basketball player Todd O'Brien, who wrote a guest article for Sports Illustrated hoping to encourage St. Joseph's to grant him a scholarship release, has been denied an NCAA waiver after his latest appeal.
The appeal would have allowed O'Brien to start playing immediately for UAB, where he transferred into graduate school to pursue a degree in public administration that is not offered at St. Joseph's. He believed NCAA rules would allow him to play at UAB this season, but St. Joseph's denied to grant O'Brien the scholarship release necessary.
O'Brien believes coach Phil Martelli led the charge to keep him from playing at UAB because the St. Joseph's coach was upset that O'Brien wanted to transfer. The school could still grant O'Brien's release and he would be freed to play at UAB immediately, but the seven-foot center isn't holding his breath.
"It seems petty and dumb for them to keep doing this," O'Brien said. "But they've done it for this long. I guess they're just going to ride it out."
O'Brien said he and his family are discussing with their attorney whether to bring a lawsuit against St. Joe's.
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