Duke, North Carolina athletes file lawsuits against NCAA rule limiting eligibility

North Carolina wide receiver JJ Jones and Duke linebacker Cameron Bergeron have filed lawsuits against the NCAA in North Carolina state court. The pair are challenging the NCAA rules that limit athletes to four seasons of competition and the completion of those four seasons in five years, per college athletics attorney Mit Winter.

“During their collegiate football careers, Plaintiffs suffered numerous injuries that limited their ability to play, as well as other challenges off the field which negatively impacted their collegiate football careers,” the lawsuit read. “As a result of a series of injuries and unfortunate circumstances, Plaintiffs had several of their seasons cut short and were otherwise were not afforded the opportunity to reach their full potential in their collegiate football careers up to this point.”

Jones and Bergeron have each played four collegiate seasons. Jones has 47 career appearances while Bergeron has 46. Neither has ever missed more than six games due to injury in a single season during their respective collegiate careers.

However, it’s worth noting that JJ Jones underwent hip surgery in January 2023, which could have prevented him from playing his best in the ensuing season. Alas, if Jones was suffering any lingering issues from the surgery, he played through them.

“Even though he has been banged up some, he plays no matter what,” then-wide receivers coach Lonnie Galloway told The Daily Tar Heel ahead of the 2024 campaign. “He wants to play no matter what. That’s a great quality in a young man because you’re only going to feel great the first day of practice.”

This is far from the first time collegiate athletes have opened lawsuits against the NCAA in hopes of receiving another year of eligibility. In January, Wisconsin cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean filed against the NCAA in the U.S. Western District of Wisconsin.

Fourqurean argued he deserved an extra year of eligibility because his season at Division II Grand Valley State should not count toward his overall eligibility. Prior to Fouqurean’s lawsuit, Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia successfully sued the NCAA in November over NIL and eligibility.

He argued the two years he spent at the New Mexico Military Institute shouldn’t count toward his eligibility as he sought another season of college football. He won the lawsuit and won an extra year of eligibility for athletes who played at least one season at a non-NCAA institution such as a junior college or an NAIA school.

Unfortunately for Jones and Bergeron, that ruling doesn’t apply to them since they each spent four years at their respective ACC programs. Their lawsuits have preliminary injunction hearings on April 22.