The SEC has officially voted to close the door on the recent trend of professional athletes trying to make a return to college sports. The decision hit close to home for LSU especially, after three athletes who were in the NFL and NBA made their return to college and committed to LSU. The three players were recently granted a fifth year of eligibility by a Louisiana state judge.
The conference announced its new policy Tuesday evening, with the vote being decided unanimously. The new rule bars any athlete from playing for an SEC program if they previously declared for the NFL, NBA or WNBA draft without withdrawing, signed a professional contract, or appeared on a professional roster including NFL, NBA, G League, WNBA and their affiliates.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey has been given what Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger described as “full and unlimited authority” to enforce the rule, including the power to suspend a member school from competition and rule individual players ineligible.
The timing is definitely not just a coincidence. LSU and head coach Lane Kiffin had been working to add tight end Dae’Quan Wright and defensive lineman Zxavian Harris, both of whom were recently released by NFL teams during training camp. At the same time, LSU basketball coach Will Wade had added former G League player RJ Luis to the LSU roster as well. All three became eligible after a Louisiana state court granted a group of former college athletes a temporary restraining order which would allow them to enter the transfer portal and pursue a fifth season of eligibility. It is the same ruling that opened the door for Notre Dame transfer Junior Tuihalamaka to commit to LSU last week.
The Big Ten passed a similar rule banning professional athletes from joining their conference and the SEC followed later that evening. The penalty for the Big Ten would suspend coaches for half a season and dock the school 20% of its football budget if they were to violate the new ruling. The SEC, however, took it a step further and banned not only NFL players, but NBA and WNBA players as well. Any athlete that declared for a professional draft, even if they were not drafted or signed, will be barred. Kiffin pushed back publicly on both the SEC and Big Ten, calling out what he characterized as a double standard in how the conferences are handling eligibility issues across the league.
The Big 12 is reportedly considering a similar rule, and the ACC was set to meet Wednesday to discuss the issue. The Sunbelt has already implemented a similar policy. As more conferences join in on banning athletes from joining their conference, it should be interesting to see what comes next for these players, as they were ultimately granted a fifth year of eligibility by state courts.
For now with the new rules, Dae’Quan Wright, Zxavian Harris and RJ Luis would all be ineligible to suit up for LSU. Lawsuits should be expected to come in the near future.
— Eric Palmer, TigerSources