Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry took direct aim at the SEC on Thursday, arguing the league has no legal basis to drag LSU and coach Lane Kiffin into an Alabama federal court fight over eligibility and calling the whole thing “dangerous.”
Speaking on Fox News on Sept. 10, Landry pushed back hard against the conference’s lawsuit and defended LSU’s handling of the dispute. He said the school and its new football coach are being singled out, even as SEC presidents and chancellors were set to vote that same day on whether to expel LSU from the league before that item was removed from the special meeting agenda.
“The SEC sued us. I'm going to tell you it's extremely dangerous for (SEC commissioner) Greg Sankey and them to continue this,” Landry said.
“Why? Because the SEC isn't a true organization in a legal sense.
It's not a corporation, it's not an LLC, it's not a juridical person. It's an affiliation of 16 universities, of which 15 of the 16 universities are public universities.
That's means they're government universities.
“Those government universities don't get a First Amendment right. That's important to understand and mentioned in the suit as well.”
The fight grew out of Kiffin’s effort to add former professional athletes to LSU’s roster in tight end Dae'Quan Wright and defensive tackle Zxavian Harris. Kiffin ultimately chose not to roster either player for LSU’s season opener against Clemson, and LSU has since finalized its 105-man roster without them.
The SEC’s legal move surfaced last week during an eligibility hearing in an East Baton Rouge Parish courthouse, while Sankey was on the stand. The league filed a motion saying it had First Amendment rights as a free and expressive association and that LSU’s actions were interfering with those rights. Earlier this week, the SEC expanded its petition to add LSU President Wade Rousse, LSU athletics director Verge Ausberry and Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill as defendants.
Landry warned that the lawsuit and any punishment tied to it could create problems far beyond LSU. He said conference action could open the door for student-athletes at schools that are kicked out of the league to sue over NIL contracts, turning a conference dispute into a wider legal mess.
“In today's world, that's extremely complicated with media rights and media contracts. With NIL looming over college sports, it also opens up each one of those universities,” Landry said.
“We don't want to infect this thing with litigation that causes universities hundreds, if not millions, of dollars of liabilities.”
He also pointed to Texas, South Carolina and Missouri as other SEC programs that have added players who attended professional minicamps. Cole Hutson was on Texas’ active roster before Steve Sarkisian said the NCAA ruled him ineligible. South Carolina brought back kicker Ethan Sanchez, who had been invited to San Francisco 49ers minicamp but never signed a pro contract, while Missouri defensive tackle Sterling Webb worked out with the Buffalo Bills without signing.
All three received temporary injunctions in different courts that gave them a fifth year of college eligibility, similar to Wright and Harris. Landry noted that the key difference in LSU’s case is that Wright and Harris signed contracts with the Philadelphia Eagles and New Orleans Saints, respectively.
He ended by saying LSU didn’t start the legal fight and argued the university has been caught in the middle.
“LSU did not create the litigation in Louisiana or Alabama,” he said. “Players that wanted to play filed in Louisiana. Our university is stuck in middle of this and the SEC is trying to villainize LSU.
“All of a sudden, Lane Kiffin has a discussion with two players, it's a big deal. It's about LSU and it's dangerous.
It's stupid. It's time just to go play football.”
In Other News...
Mike Elko Just Twisted The Knife In LSUs SEC Drama
LSUs recent flirtation with adding former NFL players DaeQuan Weight and Zxavian Harris turned into a full-on conference headache after the pair received injunctions from the state of Louisiana to play. The SEC answered with a federal suit against LSU and Lane Kiffin, and the possibility of punishment even included talk of expulsion before LSU backed away and chose not to add the players.
From Texas A&M, Mike Elko didnt let the moment pass quietly. He framed the whole mess in the language of a disciplinary showdown, likening it to a parent dealing with a child, a comparison that only added more heat to a situation that was already making LSU a central figure in SEC tension. For a league that thrives on conflict, this was the kind of comment that kept the story humming even after the immediate roster decision was made. [Read more 🡒]
LSUs SEC Clash Just Took A Strange New Turn
The SECs latest headache around LSU has had plenty of moving parts, and Lane Kiffins program has been right in the middle of it. After the school added NFL players to its roster under a temporary restraining order that gave certain athletes an extra year of eligibility, the conference reacted strongly enough to raise the possibility of taking LSU out of the league altogether over concerns about institutional control.
Now the temperature appears to be coming down. The SEC has backed off its vote, and the leagues debate has shifted from punishment to patience. Texas A&M coach Mike Elko even framed the whole episode like a parent handing down discipline before everyone calms down, which at least suggests the confrontation is moving toward resolution, even if the full fallout is still being sorted out. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Roster Decision Just Escalated Into A Bigger SEC Fight
LSUs 2026 roster picture already had a strange wrinkle, and now it has turned into something bigger than a simple personnel note. Commitments DaeQuan Wright and Zxavian Harris, both former Ole Miss players, were left off the Tigers 2026 roster after SEC commissioner Greg Sankeys demands landed in the middle of an ongoing eligibility dispute that has been working its way through the courts.
Wright and Harris are part of a lawsuit challenging NCAA eligibility rule changes, and they have already been granted a preliminary injunction that allows them to play in 2026. Their legal representatives have signaled that more action could follow against both the NCAA and the SEC, including the possibility of monetary damages tied to the conferences enforcement moves, which keeps LSU in the crosshairs of a fight that is still far from settled. [Read more 🡒]