GET DAILY REPORT FREE
The SEC has escalated its dispute with LSU, arguing in an amended federal court filing that it has the authority to expel LSU from the conference over the school’s handling of former NFL players Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris, USA Today reports.
The SEC is also seeking a temporary restraining order to protect its Sept. 10 meeting, where conference leaders are expected to vote on LSU’s membership. The amended filing adds Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill as a plaintiff, alongside LSU President Wade Rousse, Athletic Director Verge Ausberry and head coach Lane Kiffin.
The SEC argues that its constitution gives conference leaders broad authority over conference affairs and that the league has a First Amendment right to control who it associates with. It claims LSU’s actions conflict with the SEC’s stated values and that preventing the conference from acting would cause irreparable harm.
The dispute stems from a Louisiana judge’s Sept. 3 preliminary injunction allowing Wright and Harris to potentially join LSU’s roster. Despite that ruling, LSU left both players off its Week 1 roster for its game against Clemson.
According to attorney Ryan Regula, the amended filing significantly broadens the case: It is now about whether the SEC can remove LSU and whether Louisiana officials can interfere with that process, rather than simply whether LSU can roster the two former NFL players. The SEC says its Sept. 4 meeting of 15 presidents reached a consensus that LSU’s membership was no longer tenable.
The immediate issue is whether a federal judge will grant the SEC’s TRO before the Sept. 10 meeting, potentially allowing the conference to proceed with a vote on LSU’s future.
