Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr is pushing the SEC to come down hard on LSU if the Tigers move forward with a roster that includes former NFL players returning to college.
In a letter to commissioner Greg Sankey obtained by USA TODAY Sports, Carr urged the league to take "all measures available” against LSU and to "use all legal means necessary to protect the University of Georgia, student athletes, and the integrity of college athletics,” if the school fields those players. He also suggested the punishment could go as far as suspending LSU or removing the school from the conference.
"College athletics are for college athletes only, and we are grateful the SEC has taken swift action to maintain that standard," Carr wrote in the letter. "However, the rules cannot be ignored or twisted to benefit one coach, one institution, or one program, and we refuse to stand by while that happens."
The conflict escalated after LSU secured commitments from two former Mississippi players under Lane Kiffin who later signed NFL contracts: tight end Dae’Quan Wright and defensive lineman Zxavian Harris. In response, SEC presidents voted 15-0 to approve a rule that bars former professional athletes from competing in football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball at member schools.
That policy did not last long before the courts stepped in. Days after the vote, Louisiana state Judge William Jorden ruled that the conference could not enforce the new rule.
Carr sent his letter to Sankey one day before a scheduled preliminary injunction hearing in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In it, he said the court orders “obviously raise serious legal concerns,” but argued that LSU’s response was the bigger immediate issue.
"The substance and scope of those orders obviously raise serious legal concerns," Carr wrote in the letter. "However, the more immediate concern is that after the temporary orders took effect, one of the SEC's member institutions, Louisiana State University (LSU), indicated its plans to ignore the conference policy by opting to roster one or more pro athletes this season. It is no coincidence that the very institution set to potentially use this temporary order to flout the SEC's rule is in the trial court's own backyard."
Carr also wrote that “no institution should be allowed to ignore the obligations of Conference membership while continuing to receive the benefits of membership."
The letter arrived a day after Tennessee chancellor Donde Plowman, who serves as president of the SEC’s executive committee, told ESPN that the league is standing by its rule against former professional athletes in conference competition.
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