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A federal judge in Iowa denied the injunction requested by Cuban wrestler Reineri Andreu Ortega, which prevents him from competing in the 2026-27 season of Division I at Iowa State University while he continues his antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA.
According to information from Bloomberg Law, Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa determined that Ortega did not demonstrate a sufficient likelihood of success in his claim that the NCAA's five-year eligibility rule violates the Sherman Antitrust Act.
Ortega, a two-time U23 world champion, two-time Pan American champion, and Central American gold medalist in the 57-kilogram category, arrived in the United States as a refugee in December 2022 after leaving the Cuban national team.
She enrolled at Iowa State University in the spring of 2023 and secured a spot on the team, but she has not been able to compete officially since then due to eligibility issues.
The core of the conflict is that the NCAA began Ortega's eligibility timeline in 2016, when he enrolled full-time at Manuel Fajardo University in Cuba, an institution without intercollegiate sports affiliated with the NCAA, where his primary activity was representing the Cuban national team.
Under Regulation 12.6 of Division I, the five-year period —which allows for four seasons of competition— begins with the first full-time college enrollment anywhere in the world, regardless of whether the athlete competed in college leagues or not.
The lawsuit, filed in December 2025, argues that this interpretation is arbitrary because it penalizes post-secondary studies outside the NCAA system without intercollegiate sports activity, unlike what happens with American athletes who spend years in professional leagues and then enter college without similar restrictions.
Additionally, he points to the case of Chris Weinke, who, after six years as a professional baseball player, won the Heisman Trophy at the age of 28 without facing equivalent restrictions.
For Ortega, the exclusion is not only athletic, as the rule also prevents him from accessing income from name, image, and likeness, as well as the direct revenue sharing approved in the House v. NCAA agreement for $2.8 billion, effective from July 1, 2025.
Judge Ebinger had previously denied a temporary restraining order in December 2025 on procedural grounds, without addressing the merits of the case. Ortega also withdrew a preliminary request before resubmitting it, as recorded in the court documents.
The case is part of a wave of antitrust lawsuits against the NCAA following the Alston decision (Supreme Court, 2021) and the House ruling (2025), which have transformed the job market for college athletes and turned eligibility into a matter with direct economic impact.
The litigation is proceeding towards a possible trial, although Ortega's lawyers warn that without that opportunity, his career in the United States is nearly cut short.
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