Greg Sankey just pulled out all the stops to put an end to LSU’s ridiculous strategy

Greg Sankey and the SEC have made it abundantly clear that they are not going to abide the strategy that LSU has been hoping to pull off of bringing back former NFL players to add to the roster. The conference passed a rule with extremely strident consequences late last month to deter the Tigers, but after a Louisiana judge ordered that the SEC could not enforce the rule (at least right now), it became clear that the conference needed to make another move.

That move has now come down. There is a hearing in Louisiana today to determine whether the injunction against the conference will be extended— effectively granting the players in question, Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavien Harris, eligibility for this year— but the SEC decided to make things happen themselves.

The conference today filed a lawsuit against LSU AD Verge Ausberry, LSU president Wade Rousse, and head football coach Lane Kiffin for their alleged attempts to bring back professional players to their roster. This lawsuit was filed in Alabama, eliminating any worry that Louisiana judges may slant things in favor of the Tigers— a savvy move by the conference.

SEC sues top LSU brass to stop them from bringing professional players back to school

This is a clear demonstration by the conference that they mean business in a major way. You can read more about the grounds for the lawsuit in the link below.

This is not just a warning shot at LSU, of course— it’s a warning shot at the entire conference. Reports emerged recently that other schools were exploring doing the same thing as LSU (which, of course, you have to do to remain competitive if the Tigers are able to pull it off), and this is a strong statement to such schools that that won’t fly.

Say whatever you want about the current stage of college football, but bringing players who have signed NFL contracts back to the collegiate ranks is clearly a bridge too far for everyone. Fans hate it, and figures like Sankey clearly understand the existential threat it poses to the sport.

This shows clearly in how determined the SEC is to, at all costs, prevent the Tigers from carrying out their plans. This is compounded by the fact that there have been reports that figures in the Tigers’ athletic department were actually actively pushing for these players to file lawsuits to regain their eligibility, which would amount to subterfuge against the conference of which they are a member.

This is no joke, clearly— the SEC brass and the other member schools have been ready to take drastic measures to stop the Tigers here, up to and including expulsion from the conference. The Georgia Attorney General even encouraged the conference to take those kinds of measures recently.

The decisive point is coming soon in this saga, though: NCAA rules require that rosters be submitted 24 hours before a team’s first game, so LSU has until tomorrow night to decide whether they want to roster the players in question. The SEC has made it clear that they will bring the hammer down if they do so— the question is whether LSU fears that hammer.

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