Your move, SEC.
Following proceedings Thursday, Sept. 3, inside a Baton Rouge, Louisiana, courtroom, a judge ruled LSU may continue to roster and play ex-professional athletes – on the football field, the basketball court and beyond.
That’s the effective ruling of 19th Judicial District Court Judge William Jorden following hours-long testimony from SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, as well as two of the plaintiffs in the case – former Mississippi, would-be LSU football players Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris.
Jorden granted LSU's and the plaintiffs' request for preliminary injunction that thwarts the SEC's initial attempt to bar the ex-collegiate athletes who have been in NFL camps from returning to the collegiate game in quest of a fifth year of eligibility.
Jorden narrowed the scope of this particular case to just the seven athletes who are seeking to compete in the SEC during proceedings. Jorden narrowed the number of plaintiffs in the case to the seven individuals who are seeking to compete in the SEC.
The NCAA on June 23 adopted a new "age-based" eligibility model that provides current and future student-athletes five years to play five competitive collegiate seasons.
Jorden's ruling came some nine hours after proceedings began, which included multiple hours of testimony from Sankey -- forced to reveal on the witness stand that his SEC salary is roughly $5 million and acknowledge that he arrived for court proceedings via private air travel.
It also came after the SEC issued a legal preemptive strike as it filed suit against LSU and pertinent parties inside a federal court room -- the United States DIstrict Court of Northern Alabama.
“You go to our nemesis, Alabama, really? So, that lets you know what the commissioner is all about, plain and simple” plaintiffs’ attorney Tony Clayton told a gaggle of reporters outside the courthouse. “I was trying to stipulate all the athletes will say that, they will all testify that they would exercise their fifth year and that they have a fifth year left. So, if we can enter that stipulation we can fast-track that argument."
Attorney Kevin Paule, a shareholder at Florida-based Hill Ward Henderson who has in the past represented athletes in eligibility cases, marked the SEC's legal escalation.
"This is an extreme measure by the SEC that appears less about the legal merits of the case and more of an attempt to exert leverage against LSU before the season kicks off," Paule said. "LSU will have to evaluate how far they're willing to push this and whether they want to take the risk of the SEC's penalties if, and when, they are deemed enforceable."
As USA TODAY Sports previously reported, the SEC has made clear to its 16 member institutions that it will pursue every possible legal recourse in this subject - "It's incredibly important to the league that they keep out pros," an executive at an SEC school told USA TODAY Sports Wednesday, Sept. 2 - and can retroactively enforce penalties per its policy and bylaws.
Those penalties include, but are not limited to, sanctioning a head coach with suspension, fining the institution's specific program in violation of SEC policy and also revoking the school's voting privileges on all member matters.
As of the morning of Thursday, Sept. 3, there were 450 plaintiffs seeking injunctive relief for immediate eligibility at the collegiate level. Data reflect that 303 are presently eligible to compete, per the legal system, while 147 plaintiffs have been denied a preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order.
Late Wednesday, Sept. 2, in the U.S. District Court of Southern West Virginia, the NCAA was a successful defendant in Trotter vs. the NCAA. U.S. District Court Judge Robert C. Chambers denied the motion for preliminary injunction for the 14 plaintiffs, headed by Dewain Boogie Trotter, per documents.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LSU can field former NFL players after Louisiana judge rules in school's favor
