SEC Fires Back After LSU Wins Major Eligibility Ruling

The tug-of-war in the SEC is not over yet.

Jul 20, 2026; Tampa, FL, USA; SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey speaks to the press during SEC Football Kickoff Media Day at the Tampa Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Lane Kiffin just found himself in even deeper water. Thursday night's ruling finally gave protection to his two recent NFL commits, Dae'Quan Wright from the Cleveland Browns and Zxavian Harris from the New Orleans Saints.

Shortly after the win, LSU is also aiming to add cornerback Blake Cotton from the Broncos, turning the duo into a trio.

Even though LSU has won and made history in doing so, there's not much clapping coming from its fellow conference programs or the conference itself.

The SEC is finding their own loopholes in the courtroom, the same way Kiffin did in his late recruiting run. It's now the ultimate retaliation.

Courtroom Chaos

Feb 11, 2026; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; LSU football head coach Lane Kiffin looks on from the baseline at the game between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Miami Heat during the second half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After going back and forth with both the NCAA and the SEC over the past couple of weeks regarding Kiffin's former Rebels and now-former NFL athletes, Judge William Jorden granted a temporary injunction against the NCAA and the SEC.

This gave Kiffin the green light to put the trio on the roster for Saturday's exciting home opener between LSU and Clemson. But questions remain about whether the three, or even some of them, will be on the controversial roster.

And of course, the SEC isn't happy about this. Originally, the SEC enforced strict punishments on a program and its head coach for listing a player on their roster if the player had signed with or appeared on an NFL roster.

Which is exactly what the successful ruling targeted. Not only do Kiffin's players have protection to play, but so does he and his program.

That's what the SEC is already aiming to fight back against, filing a federal lawsuit against Lane Kiffin and LSU, saying that he and his program violated the conference's First Amendment right to expressive association in ignoring the rules of adding former pro players.

Backed-Up Backlash

Jul 20, 2026; Tampa, FL, USA; SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey speaks to the press during SEC Football Kickoff Media Day at the Tampa Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Before the SEC filed the lawsuit, the rest of the conference was able to vote on whether -at all- any teams should allow NFL players to appear on their rosters.

Well, every team, excluding LSU, opted not to cast a vote. The vote resulted in 15-0, to not allow NFL players on a college football team.

So now that a group of up to 40 players, who were NFL-ready just a couple of days ago, is able to come back to college, and they want to play in the SEC, LSU might just be the only place they can go.

Unless, of course, the teams wanna continue to make the situation more controversial and start recruiting from the NFL after voting against it.

All of the eyes and attention are on LSU right now, not just because of the anticipated home opener on Saturday, but for pulling off something that nobody agrees with.

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