The lines between being a professional athlete and a collegiate athlete seem to be blurring more with each passing day. This week, those lines are literally being erased.
Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris are players who were just in NFL training camps. Wright was practicing with the Cleveland Browns as recently as this past weekend. He did not play in any games with the Browns due to an injury, but following Cleveland’s most recent preseason game, the Browns waived Wright. While going through the waiver
process, Wright committed to LSU.
A few days later, Harris, who was in training camp earlier this summer with the Saints, also committed to LSU. Harris was never able to practice due to rehabbing an injury, but he was still waived before the second preseason game. Harris and Wright are both former players of Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss.
They were both granted a fifth year of eligibility due to the NCAA passing the five-years-to-play-five-seasons rule this summer and a federal judge granting an injunction to players from the 2022 class who were forced to leave college after playing four seasons without using a redshirt.
As of today, however, the fight over their eligibility has taken another turn. A Louisiana judge granted a TRO to 16 players who filed against the NCAA and parties acting in concert with the NCAA to ensure they could play. However, the SEC has now passed a rule that would severely punish schools and coaching staffs for playing athletes who have signed professional contracts or entered their names into professional drafts and did not properly withdraw.
The rule was passed last night and approved by a 16-0 vote. Today, the enforcement measures for the rule were announced and approved by a 15-0 vote, with LSU abstaining.
With 10 days until kickoff, the battle over their eligibility is not over. The hearing for the TRO is set to take place on Monday, August 31, and it is more than likely that the players will seek some form of legal protection from the SEC to maintain their legal status to play.
Please keep in mind that this is not an LSU battle. This would be the players against the conference, not the school. Also, LSU is not the only school seeking to add players who have fallen under this umbrella, and football is not the only sport in which this has taken place.
College sports are becoming increasingly difficult to view through the lens of amateurism, and the events of this week are truly breaking the glass on that.
What are your thoughts on where things stand with the former pros trying to return? Do you think Wright and Harris will be able to play for LSU this year? Share your thoughts in the comments.
