Just when you think you’ve seen it all …
Missouri football defensive tackle Sterling Webb, who was granted a temporary restraining order against the NCAA in July that allowed him to return to the Tigers this year for a fifth season of eligibility, is seeking another temporary restraining order.
This one, filed in the same St. Louis County Court that granted his original TRO, was filed against the University of Missouri in order to play this year for the University of Missouri football team.
The new defendants are the UM System Board of Curators.
Huh? What’s that now?
If you’re wondering if you read that right, you did.
According to court documents first reported by Eli Hoff at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and since reviewed by the Columbia Daily Tribune, Webb has requested that the court “grant his Motion for Temporary Restraining Order against Defendants The Curators of the University of Missouri and University of Missouri, Columbia; enter against them the same temporary restraining order this Court entered against the NCAA.”
The latest court filing, if granted, would prevent the university from declaring Webb ineligible this year, declining to certify his eligibility, withholding any revenue-sharing or NIL compensation he is due to earn and, perhaps most importantly, withholding him from “practice, competition, team travel, or any other intercollegiate athletics activity during the 2026-2027 academic year.”
A hearing in front of Judge Ellen Ribaudo — the same judge who granted Webb’s original TRO against the NCAA — has been set for 10 a.m. Wednesday.
The NCAA has filed a motion to dismiss Webb’s original temporary restraining order in its entirety.
Both Webb’s new petition for injunctive relief and the NCAA’s motion to dismiss his original TRO appear likely to come up during the hearing Wednesday.
That has added a layer of complexity to the case and Webb’s impending eligibility.
The NCAA has had some recent success in the courts overturning TROs, including cases in Ohio and Tennessee and at the federal level in Colorado.
Webb’s most recent filing appears to be a brand-new development, even at the national level.
The Tribune has yet to see a player seek injunctive relief against the university they intend to play for. Mit Winter, a college sports law attorney and leading voice in the NIL age, posted Tuesday to his X account that he thinks “this is a first in the 5-in-5 cases.”
Missouri opens its season with a home game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 7 p.m. Thursday — approximately a day and a half after Webb’s scheduled hearing. The defensive tackle is listed on Mizzou’s depth chart and is expected to play a prominent role along the Tigers’ defensive line.
Will Webb be involved Thursday night?
The NCAA’s motion for appeal and, now, Webb’s request for a TRO against the university he intends to play for will determine whether or not that is allowed to happen. More answers should arrive Wednesday.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Huh? Missouri DT Sterling Webb seeks TRO against Missouri to play for Missouri
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