Here’s when judge will rule on SEC vs. LSU temporary injunction
· Yahoo Sports
Athletes seeking to return to college after turning pro testified Thursday in Baton Rouge after SEC commissioner Greg Sankey was on the stand for more than two hours, defending the league’s authority to enforce its rules barring former pros from returning to play in the conference.
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UPDATE: Judge has made his decision
East Baton Rouge Parish Judge William Jorden, per Trey Wallace, will rule on the case Thursday night. He initially scheduled the hearing over his temporary injunction preventing the NCAA from barring former pros or fifth-year college athletes.
With season-openers for most teams Saturday, the SEC requires its schools to submit final 2026 rosters for the season by Friday.
Sankey said school presidents and chancellors needed to establish a line between professional and college sports and that there needed to be ways to hold schools accountable.
“The line between professional sports and college sports needs to be maintained,” Sankey testified, per The Associated Press, adding that the league was concerned about incoming athletes being displaced from limited roster spots.
In a wild turn of events, while Sankey was on the stand, the SEC filed the federal lawsuit against LSU and its leadership, alleging the school had “waged a deliberate and coordinated campaign to recruit professional athletes” in defiance of league rules.
The court filing seeks an injunction barring LSU from violating the SEC’s First Amendment rights by forcing it to “associate with conduct that is contrary to the conference’s purpose and mission.”
Legal experts, per The AP, said the filing was a backup in case the the SEC loses in state court.
“I got a problem with that,” attorney for the plantiffs Tony Clayton said outside the courtroom Thursday. “I mean, you go around, you can file this suit in any state. You’re suing LSU. Sue them in Louisiana. You go to our nemesis: Alabama. Really? So, so that lets you know what the commissioner is all about.”
According to the report, former New Orleans Saints defensive lineman Zxavian Harris and former Cleveland Browns tight end Dae’Quan Wright both took the stand to say they would have not tried to turn pro had they known they might get another year in college.
Harris and Wright said they each earned about $1 million in college. Harris said he was paid just $190 in travel expenses by the Saints and spent all of his time with the NFL club rehabbing a foot injury. Wright said he was paid a $25,000 signing bonus by Philadelphia before his brief time with the Browns and would gladly pay that back for the chance to play for LSU.
Attorneys for the athletes argued:
- When SEC eligibility rules align with NCAA rules, it is potential collusion.
- Questioned why league members met last week to adopt penalties for the very actions addressed in the Louisiana state court’s temporary injunction against the NCAA.
- Asked why the SEC singled out players who signed contracts with specific U.S.-based leagues — the NFL, NBA and WNBA — but not overseas pro leagues or women’s pro soccer leagues.
When Sankey, per the report, qualified an answer about whether the SEC had previously punished a school for adding a player with previous pro experience, Clayton said, “I didn’t ask how to build a clock. I’m just asking what time it is.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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