The SEC filed an amended complaint Tuesday morning in its lawsuit against Louisiana State University, head football coach Lane Kiffin and school officials with the conference seeking authority to expel LSU.
The filing in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Alabama outlines a meeting of presidents and chancellors scheduled for Thursday to decide whether to terminate LSU as a member of the conference.
The SEC also is seeking a temporary restraining order which would prevent LSU officials — or their representation — from taking any action to interfere with the meeting.
Established rules of the conference require a favorable vote of at least two-thirds of all university presidents to terminate a school’s membership from the SEC.
“The SEC and its member universities have the right to establish, through agreed-upon governance procedures, the rules under which they voluntarily compete and to expect those rules to be followed,” the conference said in a statement. “A commitment to those rules, and to the core principles of the Southeastern Conference, is an essential element of SEC membership.
“Today’s filing is necessary to defend that right and preserve the Conference’s ability to govern competition among its members.”
In its filing, the SEC said that LSU has “demonstrated lack of institutional control at the university level-including complete lack of control over Coach (Lane) Kiffin’s actions.”
The SEC noted Kiffin’s comment to an ABC sideline reporter during halftime of LSU’s game versus Clemson on Saturday. The Tigers were leading 31-3 at halftime and coasted to a 51-10 victory.
“Imagine if we had pro players,” said Kiffin, alluding to the absences of former NFL players — tight end Dae’Quan Wright and defensive lineman Zxavian Harris. Both players signed NFL contracts before attempting to return to the school.
Louisiana district court judge William Jorden issued a preliminary injunction last Thursday that cleared the way for Wright and Harris to play for the Tigers even though both were in NFL training camps this summer.
Per the SEC in its complaint, Kiffin’s comments “stand in sharp contrast to the silence by the President and Athletic Director of LSU” and “they confirm the lack of institutional control over the athletics program at LSU that is required by Article 6 of the SEC Constitution and by the remaining provisions of the Constitution and Bylaws.”
Wright and Harris were among the 42 athletes across multiple sports who were covered by the injunction, which came in the wake of the NCAA’s pivot to a new 5-for-5 eligibility system. The judge’s ruling temporarily prevents the Southeastern Conference and the NCAA from enforcing rules that would keep the athletes from playing college sports in the new school year.
Wright signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in the offseason, then was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Browns, who subsequently waived him. Harris signed an undrafted free agent contract with the New Orleans Saints before they waived him in early August.
Both Harris and Wright played for new LSU coach Lane Kiffin last season at Ole Miss.
The SEC passed a rule that permitted commissioner Greg Sankey to punish any school that added players who signed NFL contracts to its roster. A half-season suspension of the head coach and a fine of half of the school’s football athletic budget were the prescribed penalties.
The conference approved a measure related to the penalties by a 15-0 count, with LSU abstaining.
–Field Level Media
