LSU has opted not to roster two players who signed NFL preseason contracts.
On Tuesday night, LSU added two more players to its roster: cornerback Aiden Anding and defensive end Gabriel Reliford, a source confirmed to Front Office Sports. With the additions, LSU has reached 105 players on their roster, the maximum number of allowable roster spots.
The Tigers roster is now locked in for the season without Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris, the two players who had signed NFL preseason contracts and who were at the center of the fierce legal battle between LSU and the SEC.
The decision comes after the SEC escalated its lawsuit against LSU earlier on Tuesday, and stated in court documents that it would hold an SEC presidents vote on Thursday to expel LSU from the conference altogether.
LSU’s roster move ends the uncertainty surrounding whether they will roster these specific ex-NFL players this season. But it’s unclear if the decision will be enough to end the litigation, given that the SEC appears to be using the situation as a test of whether it can enforce conference rules—and therefore answer an existential question in college sports.
But the legal battle didn’t begin with the SEC’s lawsuit. It started earlier in August, when a group of players sued the NCAA for a fifth year of eligibility, challenging the implementation of the NCAA’s new age-based eligibility policy. The case made waves because Wright and Harris, of the larger group, had signed NFL preseason contracts and were now attempting to return to college (specifically, to LSU). The SEC announced a conference-wide ban on players in response, but LSU and the athletes didn’t back down.
Last Thursday, Judge William Jorden of the 19th judicial district court in Baton Rouge granted the players an injunction allowing them to suit up this season and preventing the NCAA and SEC from punishing LSU or the players. On the same day, the SEC filed its lawsuit against LSU in federal court in Alabama seeking to establish the legal authority to implement penalties.
On Friday night, it appeared LSU had decided to de-escalate the situation when Kiffin chose not to roster Wright and Harris for their Week 1 matchup against Clemson. But Kiffin continued to defend the players’ ability to take the field eventually, and declined to say whether he would let them play in future weeks (after all, he had left two roster spots open for them). Kiffin even joked about the situation during a halftime interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe.
Those comments, as well as others, ended up in the amended complaint the SEC filed against LSU on Tuesday. All day, it appeared tensions were rising. A hearing on a court order in the federal case was set for Wednesday afternoon; the vote to expel LSU was set for Thursday. Meanwhile, both Louisiana senators, John Kennedy and Bill Cassidy, issued statements in LSU’s defense.
LSU’s Tuesday night decision is a signal that the program is backing down from its previous position. The broader legal feud may continue, however.
The SEC could press on with its litigation, or at least the vote to expel LSU, in an attempt to establish a broader precedent that a conference can successfully and legally enforce rules among conference members. An SEC spokesperson declined to comment.
Additionally, it’s unclear whether the Baton Rouge court could take action if it sees the events of this week as a violation of the original injunction. The players could pursue action against LSU as well for not signing them. The players’ attorney, Ryan Downton, told FOS on Tuesday night that Wright and Harris “are considering their legal options.”
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