SEC says it can expel LSU as legal battle over Tigers' roster escalates

The SEC dared LSU to play what it considers ineligible players before the Tigers' season opener. Now, the conference is making clear just how seriously it views the dispute. In an amended complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, the SEC argues it has the authority to remove LSU from the conference it helped found in 1933. This request for a temporary restraining order also seeks to protect the SEC's Thursday, Sept. 10, meeting to vote on the future of LSU's residency in the league. The request for TRO also specifically included State of Louisiana Attorney General Elizabeth B. Murrill among the plaintiffs, who also include LSU President Wade Rousse, Athletics Director Verge Ausberry and Lane Kiffin, LSU's head football coach. The filing cites the SEC Constitution, which grants the conference's chief executive officers "plenary power and authority with respect to all affairs of the Conference of any type or nature whatsoever," including the authority to take actions outlined in Article 3 at their "sole discretion." Put simply: The SEC is laying out a path that could lead to LSU's expulsion from the conference. USA TODAY Sports has reached out to LSU athletics for comment. The SEC's latest filing asks the court to prevent LSU and other defendants from interfering with actions that could be considered at a properly noticed special meeting of conference leaders scheduled for Sept. 10, including any decision to terminate LSU's membership. "Forced association with a member whose conduct is antithetical to the SEC's mission and core values violates the Conference's fundamental First Amendment rights," the filing states. "LSU has rejected those core values repeatedly and publicly. An injunction is necessary to prevent the irreparable harm that the SEC will suffer if it cannot remove a member to avoid association of the Conference's name, brand, championships, and media properties with conduct and views that the Conference and its member institutions have condemned for decades." Despite LSU's win in a Baton Rouge courtroom, NFL camp participants Dae'Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris were not submitted on LSU's Week 1 roster ahead of the Tigers' win over Clemson after being granted a preliminary injunction by a Louisiana judge on Sept. 3. LSU coach Lane Kiffin made an appearance on ESPN's 'College GameDay' and explained the decision to leave Wright and Harris off the roster for now. "That wasn't easy. As much as I feel for the players, and I believe that you fight for what you believe in, and I believe that these kids have an opportunity to play, just like all the other kids around the country who are winning court cases and being put on rosters," Kiffin said. "But at the same time, I'm the head coach of LSU and I had to make a decision that is for the big picture for LSU and the LSU football program, with the uncertainties of what potentially could have come by adding them to the roster." Can the SEC legally expel LSU from the conference? The amended complaint expands on the league's original Sept. 3 filing, which coincided with SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey's appearance in a Baton Rouge courtroom. In it, the SEC specifically cites Section 3.1.5 of its constitution. Ryan Regula, partner attorney at Snell & Wilmer who works with universities across the country and specializes in complex litigation as well as regulatory compliance, outlined three major components of the amended filing. "The Amended Complaint also fills in what happened in the five days between the original filing and now, and it's a lot," Regula told USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday, Sept. 8. "You have the Sept. 3 preliminary injunction hearing in Louisiana where the court sided with the athletes. You have the informal meeting of 15 SEC presidents on Sept. 4 — without LSU's president in the room — where they reached consensus that LSU's membership was no longer tenable. You have LSU deliberately leaving two roster spots open after the (NCAA-mandated roster submission) deadline so former NFL players could be added later. And you have Coach Kiffin going on ESPN's College GameDay on Sept. 5 saying he's actively 'fought' for the Pyburn plaintiffs (Pyburn vs. NCAA), and his halftime comment during the Clemson game, 'Imagine if we had pro players.' "Each of these facts is doing work in the complaint. They've building the case for irreparable harm and urgency, which is exactly what you need to get a TRO. "This Amended Complaint transforms the case in three ways," said Regula, a former NCAA student-athlete who also advises current college athletes in this arena. "First, it's no longer just about whether LSU can roster former NFL players — it's about whether the SEC can vote to remove LSU as a member and whether any court or state official can stop that vote. Second, by adding the Attorney General and all 16 Board members, it reframes this as the SEC versus the State of Louisiana, not just the SEC versus a rogue football program. And third, the addition of the TRO request means this case is moving at emergency speed, we could see a ruling before September 10. "At the end of the day, the Conference is making a constitutional argument: we have a First Amendment right to decide who we associate with, and no state actor — not a university president, not a football coach, and not an attorney general — can force us to associate with conduct we've unanimously repudiated." This story will be updated. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: SEC says it can expel LSU as legal battle over Tigers' roster escalates Reporting by John Brice, USA TODAY / USA TODAY USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect