WHL player tests NCAA rules with commitment to ASU: What it means for anti-trust suits

A player in a Canadian major junior hockey league is challenging NCAA eligibility rules, adding another complicated layer to lawsuits aimed at dismantling the current framework of college athletics.

Braxton Whitehead, who plays for the Western Hockey League's Regina Pats, verbally committed to play for Arizona State starting in the 2024-25 season. However, NCAA regulations prohibit athletes who have received payment for their athletic abilities to be able to participate in amateur sports. That includes minor league hockey players.

According to ESPN's Greg Wyshinski, who initially reported the story Friday, it's the first commitment from a Canadian Hockey League player since a class action lawsuit was filed in August against the NCAA and 10 other schools in regard to the prohibitive rules.

Whitehead, 20, believes that lawsuit will compound with the NIL-focused anti-trust settlement currently being revised under direction of a federal judge and force a change in the rules.

"I kind of hit the lottery with the timing of all that's going on right now," he told ESPN. "I think [the suit] gave me that extra step just to put myself out there and try something that's never been done before."

The lawsuit, filed by another Canadian player, contests that NCAA bylaw 12.2.3.2 — which states: "an individual shall not be eligible for intercollegiate athletics in a sport if the individual ever competed on a professional team" — violates anti-trust law.

It also claims the NCAA is actively engaging in a "group boycott" of Canadian players which "prevents competition between the CHL and NCAA for top-end players and thus artificially suppresses compensation for players and artificially creates less competitive leagues."

Whitehead's decision to verbally commit to ASU will create a conundrum entering the official start of college hockey season. Will the NCAA ban Whitehead from competing or sanction ASU for putting him on the ice? Neither the NCAA nor ASU have commented on the situation according to Wyshinski.

The NCAA bylaws in this case pertain specifically to ice hockey due to the nature of tiered professional leagues and compensation. But the argument could be made that the system is similar to that of baseball, where former professional players have returned to play collegiate sports.

Most notably this year, a former MLB player is participating as a freshman in Arkansas' football program. Monte Harris, 29, was drafted out of high school and played 10 years of professional ball. He's eligible because he never played a sport at the college level.

Neither has Whitehead and he's currently prevented from stepping on the ice for ASU. The situation will be worth monitoring as pucks begin to drop in October.