NEW YORK (Reuters) — A U.S. federal appeals court on Monday temporarily blocked a judge’s ruling that allowed former Ohio State University running back Maurice Clarett to participate in this year’s National Football League draft.

The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals granted the stay to the NFL, but said it would rule later on the merits of the case. A three-member panel of the court heard arguments on the case earlier in the day.

Clarett, who played as a freshman at Ohio State, sued the NFL in September over its rule forbidding a player to join a football team before he has either been out of high school for three years or completed three college football seasons.

Under the rule, Clarett would not be able to play in the NFL until 2005. He graduated from high school in December 2001.

In February, a federal trial judge threw out the NFL eligibility rule on antitrust grounds in a move that would allow high school athletes to turn professional without first attending college.

In her decision, U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin said the rule violated antitrust laws by excluding certain competitors from the market.

She rejected NFL arguments, including a key claim that antitrust law does not apply to the eligibility policy because it is the result of a collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players’ union.

Clarett argued in his suit that the rule is an unreasonable restraint of trade because it bars all players in his position from selling their services to the “only viable buyer — the NFL.”

He said this amounted to a “group boycott” that hurts competition because some players are simply not permitted to compete.

Clarett was suspended from the Ohio State team in September for at least a year after he was accused of misleading investigators and breaking National Collegiate Athletic Association bylaws on benefits for athletes.

In his freshman season at Ohio State, Clarett rushed for 1,237 yards and 16 touchdowns, helping the Buckeyes to the 2002 national championship.