BATON ROUGE — LSU football coach Lane Kiffin said that LSU had nothing to do with former NFL players heading to court in attempt to get a fifth year of eligibility.
On SiriusXM College Sports Radio's Off Campus show Friday, Aug. 28, Kiffin refuted a recent report from CBS that alleged that LSU encouraged either former NFL players or their representatives to seek legal action against the NCAA.
“These kids made these decisions on their own with attorneys, of what to do and this was a while back that they made these decisions,” Kiffin said. “It’s all around the country. Everyone wants to point to the Louisiana case, but there’s cases in South Carolina, Texas, California, all over that have already won, of athletes in the exact same situations wanting to play this year, they’ve been granted.
“So this is not all the focus. I’m sure, you know, because of a first notable player committing to LSU, and the case being in Baton Rouge, but realizing they’re all over.”
The spotlight on this story has been squarely focused on Baton Rouge as Kiffin and his staff have landed commitments from three total players that are listed as plaintiffs in a petition filed at an East Baton Rouge Parish court that were granted a temporary restraining order by Judge Will Jorden.
Former Notre Dame defensive edge Junior Tuihalamaka, tight end Dae'Quan Wright and defensive tackle Zxavian Harris have all decided to join the Tigers. Harris and Wright are both former NFL players, having spent at least a portion of the offseason working out and on roster with the New Orleans Saints and Cleveland Browns, respectively.
The Southeastern Conference adopted a new policy earlier this week that would prohibit athletes that have signed contracts with pro teams, declared for the NFL, NBA or WNBA or have been on roster for a pro team being able to play for its member institutions.
Per the new policy, SEC Commission Greg Sankey has full authorization to punish schools and programs in violation of the rule.
Under that change, Wright and Harris would not be permitted to play for LSU. Otherwise, Kiffin would be subjected to a half-season suspension, and the football program would be docked half of its annual operating budget.
Attorneys for the athletes in the injunction have said they are hopeful Jorden will enjoin the amended TRO with the previous one and uphold the ruling that grants the players their fifth year of eligibility.
“Just now, today, they told me that a case was in Texas, you know, where they said the Texas A&M (basketball) player should be able to play, even though the SEC came on top of this,” Kiffin said. “Today, as the judge said, the SEC cannot restrict them from playing.
“So, like I said the other day when I was asked about it, what if a conference comes in on top and tries to say you can’t? So, I think that’d be really interesting legally, and now you’re in it.”
Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Lane Kiffin denies LSU's involvement in NFL players coming back to college
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