Syracuse football wide receiver Justus Ross-Simmons and dozens of other college athletes hoping to play in the upcoming 2026-27 sports season received a favorable ruling on Thursday that enables Ross-Simmons to begin practicing again with the Orange.
On Thursday, Judge Martin Hoffman of the 68th District Court in Dallas, Texas, issued a temporary restraining ("TRO") order that "that would allow roughly two dozen outgoing senior to return to college sports. If the NCAA or SEC wants to try to block any of their returns, they would have to go to court and argue their case in front of the judge," wrote ESPN's Dan Murphy in a post on X.
A judge in Dallas signed a TRO today that would allow roughly two dozen outgoing senior to return to college sports. If the NCAA or SEC wants to try to block any of their returns, they would have to go to court and argue their case in front of the judge, acc'd to the order. pic.twitter.com/kYHRxZWU1K
— Dan Murphy (@DanMurphyESPN) August 27, 2026
Based on social media posts and numerous reports, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Ross-Simmons, a Rochester, N.Y., native who has already played four seasons in college, is one of the college athletes listed as a plaintiff in this lawsuit.
The NCAA's new 5-for-5 eligibility model, approved in late June, doesn't provide for 2022 athletes, such as Ross-Simmons and Syracuse basketball transfer forward Amarri Monroe, to have a fifth season of eligibility if they have already played four seasons in college.
There is a Justus Simmons on this list. https://t.co/plcCIcRXHR
— InsideTheLoudHouse (@LoudHouseFS) August 28, 2026
The NCAA's position is that granting these 2022 athletes a fifth season of eligibility would likely impact incoming freshmen. Naturally, this has sparked a wave of lawsuits at the federal and state levels.
On Friday, via a text message, an SU Athletics spokesperson said that Ross-Simmons is eligible to return to practice on Friday, which is great to hear.
The 'Cuse has its first game in the 2026 season on Saturday, Sept. 5, at home against non-conference foe New Hampshire. Before coming to SU, Ross-Simmons played two years at Colorado State. In 2025, he was limited to eight games for Syracuse due to an injury. He caught 20 passes for 312 yards and five receiving touchdowns.
Syracuse football WR Justus Ross-Simmons got a dose of positive news on Thursday.
It's important to note a couple of things here. First, a temporary restraining order is a brief emergency court order that usually lasts only about 14 days. Secondly, per Syracuse.com, "The NCAA has a court date scheduled in front of Hoffman on Sept. 11 where it can argue that the injunction should not be continued."
According to the Syracuse.com report, attorneys for Ross-Simmons are arguing that this Texas court has jurisdiction over his eligibility because he played for the Orange at fellow Atlantic Coast Conference team SMU last October in Dallas.
Legal experts have told Inside the Loud House that Syracuse athletes such as Ross-Simmons and Monroe should strongly consider filing their own lawsuits in a state court or attaching their names to an existing injunction at the state level after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Denver, last Friday, granted the NCAA's request to stay a preliminary injunction that was issued in late July by U.S. District Court of Colorado Judge Charlotte Sweeney.
That class-wide injunction granted by Sweeney gave a fifth season of eligibility to 2022 athletes, provided they want one and with certain parameters. Because the appeal process for this federal case could drag on for a bit, more and more 2022 athletes are attaching their names to state-level cases, something that former Syracuse basketball guard J.J. Starling has also done (he reportedly entered the transfer portal, too).
We have a ruling on the NCAA's motion for a stay -- not that one though.
— Sam C. Ehrlich (@samcehrlich) August 17, 2026
The Ohio Court of Appeals has GRANTED the NCAA's motion to stay the injunction granted in Borovicanin v. NCAA, stopping the injunction from taking effect until the appeal is resolved. pic.twitter.com/qHyE1Zf33U
While legal experts have said it would make sense for Ross-Simmons to attach his name to an existing injunction at the state level, recently, the NCAA has been successful in having several TROs and/or preliminary injunctions stayed, with those cases then heading toward their respective appeals processes. It's something to monitor, one attorney told Inside the Loud House on Thursday.
The Tennessee Court of Appeals has issued an order staying the injunction granted to the plaintiff athletes pending appeal.
— Sam C. Ehrlich (@samcehrlich) August 26, 2026
As with Ohio, those players are now ineligible unless and until the Court of Appeals rules in their favor. pic.twitter.com/l6LdAGCYj2
Understandably, all of these eligibility matters are fluid, and Inside the Loud House will stay on top of everything. It was a positive step forward for Ross-Simmons on Thursday, however, his ability to play for the entire 2026 season, from a legal perspective, is far from certain.
Additionally, let's see if anything develops as far as the 6-foot-7, 230-pound Monroe, a transfer from Quinnipiac, potentially being involved in a lawsuit at the state level to improve his chances of playing for first-year head coach Gerry McNamara and his staff in the upcoming 2026-27 campaign.
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