SEC calls LSU expulsion a very real threat in filing

Anyone who figured this fight had quietly gone away was wrong. Ross Dellenger got the filing, and the league did not soften anything.

Ross Dellenger

@RossDellenger

In its latest filing in a federal lawsuit against LSU, the SEC re-emphasizes that the case should not be dismissed as LSU’s threat to interference with the league’s First Amendment rights is "ongoing" and calls expulsion from the conference a "very real threat."

Quick catch-up. The SEC sued LSU on September 3 in federal court in the Northern District of Alabama. The case is built on the league's First Amendment right of expressive association, which is a lawyer's way of saying the SEC wants the right to decide who it associates with, up to and including kicking a member out. The fight started over LSU going after Dae'Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris, 2 former Ole Miss players who had NFL experience. LSU filed a motion to dismiss on September 25. In Tuesday's response the SEC basically argued that it doesn't matter that neither player made LSU's final roster, because the case was always about something bigger.

The league's lawyers then pointed to basketball for an example of LSU still pushing its luck, and that example is RJ Luis.

Ross Dellenger

@RossDellenger

The SEC says LSU continues to “flout” the rules, offering an example: the school’s open recruitment of NBA player RJ Luis. SEC says LSU has “refused to publicly & definitely state that he will not be included in LSU’s basketball roster” and mentions recent Will Wade comments.

Luis is a former Big East Player of the Year at St. John's. He went undrafted in 2025, then signed a pile of pro deals: a two-way with the Jazz, a trade to Boston, an Exhibit 10 contract with the Celtics and a spot with the G League's Maine Celtics, where he never played a regular-season game. He committed to LSU in May, but earlier this year the SEC passed a rule that bars anyone who has signed with a pro team from coming back to play football or basketball at a league school. Will Wade has said the Tigers will 'follow all the SEC protocols with him,' and Luis was left off the roster for the McNeese exhibition. The SEC's problem is that nobody at LSU will say flat out that he's never playing.

That vagueness is exactly what the league is going after. The filing accuses LSU of a 'complete lack of institutional control' and says the September 10 SEC presidents' meeting 'never represented the outer boundary' of what the conference wants out of this lawsuit. Translation: the league is not treating this as settled just because LSU stopped short this time.

Ross Dellenger

@RossDellenger

For those thinking the SEC-LSU legal battle was over, it is not. Strong words from the league in its latest filing, including a contention that LSU is not “prepared to accept the consequences of its stubborn refusal to follow” conference rules.

Ross Dellenger@RossDellenger

In its latest filing in a federal lawsuit against LSU, the SEC re-emphasizes that the case should not be dismissed as LSU’s threat to interference with the league’s First Amendment rights is "ongoing" and calls expulsion from the conference a "very real threat." t.co/seuLeoXRmc

Calling a member 'stubborn' in a federal court filing is not normal conference behavior. This is a league putting it in writing that one of its biggest brands might not be welcome much longer. Nobody seriously expects LSU to be playing a Sun Belt schedule next fall. Still, the word 'expulsion' is now in the court record twice, and the SEC chose to repeat it.

Chris Low

@Clowfb

LSU going to be in the SEC’s doghouse forever.

Ross Dellenger@RossDellenger

For those thinking the SEC-LSU legal battle was over, it is not. Strong words from the league in its latest filing, including a contention that LSU is not “prepared to accept the consequences of its stubborn refusal to follow” conference rules. t.co/kweQDcj34e

Next up, LSU's reply is due October 20, and then Judge Annemarie Carney Axon decides whether the case goes forward. In the meantime keep an eye on the Luis situation. The Tigers open their basketball season in about 3 weeks, and if his name ever shows up on a roster, the SEC already has its next exhibit.