Federal judge under scrutiny for conflict of interest in NCAA cases

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Tilman “Tripp” E. Self III denied Georgia graduate student Dylan Goldstein’s motion for a preliminary injunction to play baseball beyond his four years of NCAA eligibility. However, later on Friday, lawyer Tom Mars revealed a poignant discovery he’d made about Self’s background on social media.

“Federal judge whose ‘X’ profile says he is an ‘NCAA Football Official’ departs from recent federal court decisions and rules for NCAA in case brought by player seeking to extend his eligibility. Judge served as an NCAA official as recently as November 2024. I have questions,” Mars wrote on X, attaching screenshots from Self’s X account and alleged evidence of his officiating past.

Obviously, if Self was an NCAA Football official in the past, he may have a bias about cases regarding NCAA eligibility. Mars further emphasized “the Code of Judicial Conduct requires judges to disclose to the parties any relationship they have which could cause reasonable minds to question their impartiality.”

If the court was unaware of Self’s previous ties to the NCAA, there may be questions around the validity of his decision to deny Dylan Goldstein’s motion.

Goldstein began his collegiate career at Chipola College, a junior college in Florida. His first season at the school was canceled in 2020 and he played in the 2021 season before transferring to Florida Atlantic. He stayed at FAU for two seasons before transferring to Georgia and playing in the 2024 campaign.

In his motion, Goldstein requested a preliminary injunction to play this season. In December, a federal judge granted Vanderbilt quarterback and former JUCO transfer Diego Pavia a preliminary injunction to allow him to play in fall 2025.

This ruling allowed all former JUCO players to play a fourth year of D-I in fall 2025 or spring 2026. Unfortunately for Goldstein, he wants to play this spring. Thus, the ruling doesn’t apply to him.

“In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Tilman (“Tripp”) E. Self III, noted that while he was ‘sympathetic’ to Goldstein’s desire to keep playing, the athlete’s legal arguments came up short,” according to Sportico‘s Michael McCann. “The judge underscored that a party seeking a preliminary injunction on the basis of antitrust law faces a steep burden.”

In Dylan Goldstein’s lone season with Georgia in 2024, he appeared in 52 games with 41 starts. Goldstein batted .273, tallying 11 doubles, one triple, 12 home runs and 43 RBI. The Bulldogs are 9-1 this season and currently on a six-game win streak.