LSU could be EXPELLED from SEC as conference steps up legal fight... and uses Lane Kiffin interview as evidence

LSU's fight with the SEC has taken a new twist with the conference seeking the power to expel the school from the league. The Southeastern Conference filed an amendment to the federal lawsuit it filed against the school in Alabama last Thursday and has 'scheduled a meeting on Thursday to decide whether to terminate LSU as an SEC member institution'. SEC rules state a vote of at least two-thirds of all presidents is required to terminate a school's membership. 'The SEC and its member universities have the right to establish, through agreed-upon governance procedures, the rules under which they voluntarily compete and to expect those rules to be followed,' the SEC said in a statement. 'A commitment to those rules, and to the core principles of the Southeastern Conference, is an essential element of SEC membership. 'Today's filing is necessary to defend that right and preserve the Conference's ability to govern competition among its members.' Lane Kiffin said 'imagine if we had pro players' as LSU dominated Clemson in Week 1 LSU is facing a threat to be expelled from the SEC in the conference's latest legal filing Lane Kiffin's halftime interview during LSU's 51-10 win over Clemson on Saturday night is also mentioned in the amended complaint. 'Imagine if we had pro players,' Kiffin said on ABC. The amended complaint alleges Kiffin's comments 'stand in sharp contrast to the silence by the President and Athletic Director of LSU' and 'confirm the lack of institutional control over the athletics program at LSU that is required by Article 6 of the SEC Constitution and by the remaining provisions of the Constitution and Bylaws.' A Louisiana judge last week issued a preliminary injunction against the NCAA that paved the way for LSU to include former NFL players on its roster. East Baton Rouge Parish Judge William Jorden issued his ruling the night before LSU was due to submit its 105-man roster to the Southeastern Conference. They declined to name former New Orleans Saints defensive lineman Zxavian Harris and former Cleveland Browns tight end Dae´Quan Wright on the initial roster. 'It´s not about coach Kiffin. It´s not about LSU. It´s about treating these kids fairly,' said Tony Clayton, an attorney for the athletes. 'Today, justice was served. And justice was serve to the SEC. It was served like a cold cup of gumbo. And that judge forced them to eat it.' The ruling followed a nearly nine-hour hearing in a courtroom less than three miles from the LSU campus. Several athletes took the stand to explain why they should be allowed to return to play college sports for a fifth season - some of them after turning pro. The commissioner of the powerful SEC argued against them, and the league doubled down by filing a lawsuit against the school in a federal court in Alabama. That lawsuit could become the SEC's best chance at preventing former pros from playing this season. Thursday's hearing was attended by Louisiana attorney general Liz Murrill, who filed an athlete-friendly brief in the case. While she did not make any arguments in court, she spoke after the hearing and referred to the SEC's federal lawsuit against LSU as 'legal garbage,' and 'frivolous.' SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey testified in a case last week that ruled against the NCAA Kiffin's recruitment of players who were on NFL rosters has been central to the debate 'We´re going to continue to do everything we can to protect the school from those threats,' she said. Athletes were questioned after SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey was on the stand for more than two hours, defending the league´s authority to enforce its longstanding rules barring former pros from returning to play at its 16 member schools - and enforce newly outlined fines and suspensions against programs and coaches. He said school presidents and chancellors felt that they needed to establish ways to hold schools accountable for recruiting professionals back to college. 'The line between professional sports and college sports needs to be maintained,' Sankey testified, adding that the league was concerned about incoming athletes being displaced from limited roster spots. The SEC filed its federal lawsuit in Alabama against LSU while he was on the stand, alleging the school had 'waged a deliberate and coordinated campaign to recruit professional athletes' in defiance of league rules. The athletes in the case who signed pro contracts have argued they did so only because current rules that would have allowed them another college season weren´t adopted until after their decisions to sign NFL contracts. The SEC contended the question before the judge narrowly regarded whether the conference 'can enforce and require its member institutions to comply with SEC rules.' The SEC´s new penalties include fines up to half of a given sport's revenues, up to half-season suspensions for coaches and member universities´ loss of voting privileges on league business matters. Sankey provided an affidavit stating that SEC university presidents had voted 15-0 in favor of those penalties, with LSU´s Wade Rousse abstaining.