Colorado's Ezra Christensen is done waiting. This week, he sued the NCAA over a fifth-year waiver denial that cost him a shot at another season.

His attorney, Darren Heitner, took to X to share details about the situation.

"Ezra Christensen grew up in an orphanage in Sierra Leone, was adopted at 16 with no knowledge of American football or NCAA rules, navigated a pandemic that wiped out his high school senior season and any access to eligibility counseling, and unknowingly allegedly started his clock at a junior college," Heitner wrote on X.

In 2021, Christensen enrolled at San Diego Mesa College and was unaware that the move triggered his NCAA eligibility clock.

"The NCAA canceled his waiver without ever engaging with a single one of those facts. The NCAA purportedly reopened Ezra's case after initially erroneously canceling it," Heitner shared on X.

The NCAA looked at the rulebook. Heitner says they never looked at the person behind the case.

Last season at New Mexico State, he recorded 42 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, six sacks, 10 quarterback hurries, and a forced fumble, earning First Team All-CUSA honors.

NCAA did reopen his case after initially canceling the waiver, but Heitner says they've been sitting on it.

"The NCAA is sitting on its hands, and Ezra can't wait any longer. We now take our fight to court to allow Ezra to play for Colorado this coming season," Heitner said.

Colorado opens the season against Georgia Tech in 48 days. With fall camp looming, the legal timeline remains tight for a judicial decision.

NCAA’s new age-based eligibility rules are already being challenged

Christensen's lawsuit is the latest in a wave of legal challenges following the NCAA's adoption of a new age-based eligibility model in June 2026.

The new age-based eligibility model the NCAA adopted in June says the clock starts at full-time college enrollment or the year after a player turns 19, whichever hits first. NCAA President Charlie Baker said the change was necessary.

“While previous NCAA rules have served college sports well for a long time, we heard also loud and clear from NCAA members and student-athletes that eligibility rules should be easier to understand,” Baker said, per the NCAA.

A ruling in the separate Pavia lawsuit found that JUCO programs aren't NCAA members and shouldn't count against the eligibility clock. If the precedent is applied here, Christensen could get cleared to play this fall.

Do you think the NCAA should grant Ezra Christensen a fifth year of eligibility given his unique circumstances? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Farheen Fathima

Edited by

Shubhi Rathore