Duke quarterback Darian Mensah has managed to speed up the legal case that currently has him blocked from heading to another school.
An attorney for Mensah filed an emergency motion in Durham County Superior Court seeking a judge to “reconsider” the temporary restraining order (TRO) granted to the school that prohibits Mensah from enrolling elsewhere. That TRO sought by Duke runs through the next scheduled hearing in the case, but Mensah's request argued that enrollment deadlines for other schools expire as early as Friday.
“Consequently, the TRO Order becomes more than ‘temporary,’ as it could permanently foreclose opportunities for Mensah to enroll at other collegiate institutions,” the motion states.
Additionally, Mensah's motion sought to reschedule the Feb. 2 hearing date to Friday if a judge didn't reconsider the temporary restraining order. Ultimately, that next hearing was moved up four days to Thursday, according to the state's online courts portal.
Specifically, Duke’s lawsuit argued that the contract requires parties to go through arbitration before any dispute can be resolved. The school has issued a statement saying it “intends to honor” its contract with Mensah “and we expect he will do the same.”
A judge granted Duke’s request for the TRO, first verbally in a Tuesday hearing and then with a written order a day later, in an effort to “preserve the status quo” until the next hearing. That meant Mensah could enter his name into the transfer portal, but couldn’t take additional steps such as enrolling elsewhere and reaching a deal to play football.
Mensah's filing asks the judge for reconsideration based on “new evidence," then argues that “neither Mensah nor counsel was aware of any enrollment deadlines” for schools interested in adding Mensah at the time of the Tuesday hearing. It argues that Mensah would suffer “manifest injustice” if the deadline passes while the parties stay with the Feb. 2 scheduled hearing, while also arguing that date exceeds a 10-day limit prescribed by the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure.
Recommended for you
In an accompanying affidavit, Mensah states he “learned for the first time” that enrollment deadlines at other schools “will expire” Friday and that he was “not informed” of deadlines before the hearing.
The Mensah-Duke case is the latest in what is becoming a more frequent occurrence in the revenue-sharing era of college sports: legal fights over contracts between schools and players seeking to transfer.
Earlier this month, Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. announced plans to transfer before changing his mind two days later, coming amid multiple reports that the school was prepared to pursue legal options to enforce Williams’ NIL contract.
And in December, Missouri pass rusher Damon Wilson II filed a lawsuit claiming the athletic department at Georgia was trying to illegally punish him for entering the portal in January 2025.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.