A Louisiana judge is scheduled to hear Thursday morning whether to convert Friday's temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction that would keep the Southeastern Conference from punishing LSU if it rosters former NFL signees. [1] [2] Tennessee chancellor Donde Plowman, president of the SEC's executive committee, told ESPN on Tuesday the league "will not budge" on the rule that NFL players cannot return to college. [1] "Enough is enough." [1] No ruling has been issued. Wednesday is the eve.
Sunday this paper reported that college football opened its season under more than thirty eligibility lawsuits, and that the money question underneath the chaos was who captures value now that NIL and revenue-sharing exist. That remains the position. LSU is the member actually trying to bring the players back. The conference is now threatening a fine equal to half a sport's annual budget while a state court has already barred the penalty. [1] [2]
The players at issue are tight end Dae'Quan Wright and defensive tackle Zxavian Harris, who signed with the Cleveland Browns and New Orleans Saints, then committed to Lane Kiffin at LSU. [1] [3] Kiffin told ESPN that Wright is practicing with the Tigers. Neither man has been announced as formally signed or added to the roster. [1] Jack Pyburn, who had intended to join LSU after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers waived him, was claimed by the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday. [3] No. 11 LSU hosts Clemson on Saturday. [1]
The standing order from Judge William Jorden prohibits the SEC and commissioner Greg Sankey from enforcing rules — including the conference ban on pro players — that would keep the athletes in the lawsuit off the field. [2] [4] The SEC said Sunday the TRO "is not a final ruling on the merits," that it would contest the petition Thursday, and that it would comply in the meantime. [2] The judge also signed a show-cause order requiring the SEC and NCAA to explain Thursday why the new penalties do not put them in contempt of a prior ruling. [2] Penalties adopted in Birmingham last week include a half-season coach suspension, loss of half the sport's annual budget, and revocation of league voting rights. [1] [2] Asked about expulsion, Plowman called it an "extraordinary step," then pointed to the handbook: "obviously that's in there as a possibility." [1]
Plowman drew a line the presidents want kept separate from the five-year eligibility wave. "This is not about the five-for-five," she said. "If you signed a contract, you signed a contract. That's always been the bottom line. You don't get to unsign it and come back." [1] She said she had not spoken to anyone at LSU since the Birmingham meeting. "They were in the room when the vote was taken on the penalties. So they know." [1] Sankey, she said, "has the full spectrum of penalties that he can use. He needs to feel he has our authority to use those." [1]
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr sent Sankey a letter Wednesday urging "all measures available," including suspending or removing LSU from the conference, if the Tigers roster former NFL players. [4] "It is no coincidence that the very institution set to potentially use this temporary order to flout the SEC's rule is in the trial court's own backyard." [4] The SEC declined comment. [4] Kiffin, on Wednesday's coaches call, said the lawsuit involves "a lot of athletes from a lot of different sports in a lot of different states" and that LSU would wait for Thursday's guidance. [4] He had already told ESPN he would "absolutely" follow the court, and that he was "in communication daily with the SEC." [2]
Yahoo's Ross Dellenger, cited by Sports Illustrated, listed boycotts of competition, probation or expulsion, and a federal lawsuit among options discussed as "extreme measures." [3] Georgia president Jere Morehead called the moment a "test" of whether the league can set rules and follow them. [1] Fan talk will file this as Kiffin cheating or as a closed shop. ESPN will file it as chaos. The dollar line is simpler. A voluntary association is prepared to take half a football budget from a member for putting on the field players who can now be paid, while a Louisiana court has told the association it may not. Thursday decides whether that bar holds. Saturday is Clemson. The injunction, if it comes, still leaves LSU to decide whether adding the names is worth the fine the conference says it wants to levy.
-- AMARA OKONKWO, Lagos