Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill says the Southeastern Conference is stretching to keep its federal lawsuit alive, calling the league’s latest argument a “Hail Mary” in a Tuesday filing aimed at getting the case thrown out.
The SEC’s fight with LSU officials started over Lane Kiffin’s attempt to add players who had previously signed NFL contracts, but the conference expanded its complaint last week by pointing to Will Wade’s roster moves in men’s basketball. The league argued the case should continue because of Wade’s recruitment of former G League player RJ Luis.
Murrill pushed back hard, saying the SEC was now leaning on “new (and demonstrably false) claims that the LSU men’s basketball program is violating SEC rules.”
“So obvious is the case for dismissal that the SEC throws a Hail Mary: new (and demonstrably false) claims that the LSU men’s basketball program is violating SEC rules. Enough is enough. There is no good reason to waste this Court’s time and resources,” Murrill wrote, asking the lawsuit be dismissed until the conference can bring a “real case.”
The legal dispute is playing out in an Alabama court. The SEC filed its lawsuit against Murrill and several LSU officials in early September, naming president Wade Rousse, athletic director Verge Ausberry, the entire board of supervisors and Kiffin. Wade was not a party in the case.
Last week, the SEC said its case had to continue because there had been no formal declaration that Wade and LSU were committed to following the league’s professionalism rules. Murrill responded that the conference was reaching beyond the original football dispute.
“That the SEC has now resorted to new allegations about the LSU men’s basketball team - in a suit against LSU’s football coach and based solely on allegations about who would ‘play football for LSU during the 2026-2027 season’ -warrants a special response,” Murrill wrote. “Without seeking the Court’s leave to amend its complaint, the SEC now claims that LSU’s men’s basketball program is violating the SEC’s rules.”
Wade has added several former European pros to the roster, including Senegalese-Italian wing Saliou Niang, who joined this week. Niang was drafted by the Cavaliers in 2025 but never signed a pro contract and has been cleared as eligible by the SEC.
The conference has drawn a line around athletes who signed with pro teams or declared early for the NFL, NBA or WNBA drafts without withdrawing. Luis falls into the first category: he was the Big East Player of the Year at St. John’s, declared for the 2025 NBA Draft after three college seasons, went undrafted, then signed a two-way deal with the Utah Jazz before being traded to the Celtics and appearing in multiple preseason games.
Murrill also highlighted Wade’s own words from Sept. 23, saying the coach had said he planned to “abide” by SEC rules. That stood in contrast, she argued, to the league’s attempt to paint him as defiant.
“The SEC quoted Wade in its last filing as being ‘unapologetic’ about his roster-building approach, but Murrill noted the coach said on Sept. 23 he planned to ‘abide’ by SEC rules.
“As the full context shows, Coach Wade was ‘unapologetic’ about building his roster in an unconventional way - not, as the SEC misleadingly suggests, violating SEC rules,” Murrill wrote. “The lack of candor is startling.”
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