The SEC sued LSU in U.S. District Court in Alabama on Thursday, alleging the university is violating the league’s First Amendment right of expressive association by ignoring SEC rules that prohibit signing and playing former NFL players.
The lawsuit, which also names the LSU board of supervisors, LSU president Wade Rousse, athletics director Verge Ausberry and football coach Lane Kiffin as defendants, was filed while SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and others testified during a separate injunction hearing in a state court in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
During Sankey’s testimony in the state court hearing, one of the plaintiff’s attorneys brought up the newly filed federal lawsuit. The revelation sent a buzz through the packed courtroom, as few people were aware of the new development until it was mentioned.
The SEC has endured and thrived for nearly
“The SEC has endured and thrived for nearly a century because its members have adhered to that common set of rules, which each member institution, and every coach at those institutions, has agreed to follow,” the SEC’s federal lawsuit said. “Among the most fundamental of those rules are the longstanding provisions that prohibit individuals who have entered a professional draft, signed professional contracts, or been rostered on a professional athletics team from returning to compete in college athletics (the “Professionalism Rules”).
“These rules are built upon an essential principle: college athletics is reserved for students who are actively pursuing an education while competing for their universities. The Professionalism Rules preserve competitive fairness, protect opportunities for high school students and current college athletes, and maintain the distinction between college and professional sports.”
The SEC is asking the federal court for a preliminary and permanent injunction “prohibiting the defendants from violating the conference’s First Amendment rights by compelling the conference to associate with conduct that is contrary to the Conference’s purpose and mission,” and a preliminary and permanent injunction “barring Defendants from seeking to deter, coerce, prevent, or punish the Conference for exercising its First Amendment rights.”
The lawsuit said the distinction between playing amateur
The lawsuit said the distinction between playing amateur and professional athletes is “critical” to the SEC’s structure and governance.
“Specifically, Defendants waged a deliberate and coordinated campaign to recruit professional athletes to play football for LSU during the 2026-27 season, including players who had signed NFL contracts with the Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers,” the lawsuit said. “Numerous reports have shown that at least two of these professional athletes are on campus and actively practicing with LSU’s football team. Defendants have also expressed their unequivocal intent to place those athletes on LSU’s official football roster and allow them to participate in football games during the upcoming season.”
The SEC’s lawsuit notes that every one of its members — including LSU — affirmed that “individuals who choose to leave college athletics, sign professional playing contracts, and compete professionally should not then be permitted to return to college competition.”
The lawsuit says that LSU, through Rousse, voted
The lawsuit says that LSU, through Rousse, voted in favor of the SEC issuing a statement on Aug. 25, in which the league affirmed its longstanding rules prohibiting SEC teams from having professional athletes on their rosters.
“Despite the SEC’s longstanding rules prohibiting professional athletes from returning to college athletics, Defendants saw this as an opportunity to be exploited,” the SEC’s lawsuit said.
The conference alleges its “organizational purpose and core values” are being undermined by LSU.
“The SEC brings this action to vindicate its First Amendment right of expressive association, i.e. its right not to be forced to associate its competitions, brand, and championships with conduct that it has expressly condemned since the SEC’s founding. The SEC also seeks declaratory and injunctive relief to vindicate the SEC’s right to disassociate from conduct that directly undermines the SEC’s organizational purpose and core values.”
Louisiana state court Judge William Jorden ruled Friday
Louisiana state court Judge William Jorden ruled Friday that the SEC and Sankey are not allowed to punish member schools if they play a college football player who returns to campus after signing a contract with NFL teams this summer.
Jorden’s ruling prohibits the SEC from enforcing a rule it affirmed last week, which threatens schools with stiff penalties for using former NFL players, including a half-season suspension for coaches, a fine that matches 50% of the sport’s annual budget and revocation of league voting rights.
The SEC took action after former Ole Miss tight end Dae’Quan Wright and defensive tackle Zxaffin, at LSU after leaving NFL training camps
The judge had previously issued a temporary restraining
The judge had previously issued a temporary restraining order, which prohibits the NCAA from declaring Wright and Harris ineligible under its new five-for-five rule.
“Today, the SEC is a sixteen-member association,” the SEC lawsuit said. “The Presidents and Chancellors of the SEC’s member institutions have governed together across generations, operating under a set of shared rules that have shaped the athletic and educational paths of thousands of student-athletes and provided the competitive integrity and fair competition necessary for the SEC to thrive.
“Those rules are not fine print. They are the governing framework that keeps college sports unique, protects opportunities for high school and college student-athletes, and preserves competitive equity and fair competition.”
ESPN’s Pete Thamel contributed to this story.
Source: www.espn.com
