A Louisiana district court judge added the SEC and its commissioner, Greg Sankey, to an existing temporary restraining order on Friday, allowing former NFL players to play at the collegiate level.
On Thursday, a Texas judge issued a similar restraining order against the SEC, Sankey and the NCAA. This granted more than 40 plaintiffs a fifth year of eligibility in NCAA sports. Louisiana followed the bordering state’s lead after the SEC ruled on Tuesday that any players who have declared and proceeded with NFL, NBA or WNBA drafts, or played in any of the professional or affiliate leagues, would not be allowed to return to the collegiate level in the SEC.
These temporary restraining orders only last 14 days, which sets the Louisiana hearing date for Thursday, only two days before LSU football and Lane Kiffin open the season with a home game against Clemson.
The Louisiana case included former Ole Miss tight end [Dae’Quan Wright](https://lsureveille.com/285354/sports/daequan-wright-lsu-football-return-college/), who was also on the Cleveland Browns roster for the NFL preseason. It was announced on Aug. 23 that he would be returning to the SEC, but this time donning the purple and gold.
Wright’s appeal to come back to the NCAA comes from the five-for-five rule that was passed in June. This rule allows all collegiate athletes to have five years of eligibility regardless of injury. Because of this, the most recent collegiate graduating class is filing class action lawsuits to gain a fifth year of eligibility.
The NCAA has allowed these students to play their fifth year of eligibility, but the SEC and Big 10 are not permitting schools to have the aforementioned players back on the roster.