The SEC hopes to grab the Tigers by the tail.
Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reports that the conference is exploring various ways to address LSU’s plan to add former NFL players to its team, including “[extreme measures](https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football/breaking-news/article/sec-school-leaders-exploring-extreme-steps-over-lsus-plan-to-sign-former-pro-athletes-including-potential-expulsion-competition-boycott-and-federal-lawsuit-174813936.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly90LmNvLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAACkpkkAboNVcCibDDi6oo5GOro-eA4R78TJI4Ry3_YJuN0phACWZJ8zixg64Gq89BnS18xIfofCF3OeqAgRrxwwLmKK11p1CUX_otV5Wjw7HxvMwZw2ZABi1aH65McW5yf3otvtbAIhaKfST-ICn1VeozvVX5uj1EYN2jAoULX0t).”
The possibilities reportedly include boycotting competition against the school, probation, or expulsion. The SEC also is considering filing a federal lawsuit on the issue.
It was a federal lawsuit against Texas Tech from the Big 12 that prompted the Red Raiders to abandon the plan to allow quarterback Brendan Sorsby to play this year, after he won an injunction against the NCAA’s gambling suspension.
No decision is expected before Thursday’s hearing on whether the pending TRO will become a preliminary injunction.
The conversations are reportedly “serious,” and "\[t\]ensions are high.” The possibility of giving LSU the boot and replacing it with another team is on the table.
It’s nothing more than an effort to bully LSU to back down, along with a not-so-subtle unwillingness to accept the eventual ruling from the court that issued the TRO, if the court doesn’t reverse its decision and allow the SEC rule prohibiting conference members from adding former NFL players to play for their programs.
Through it all, the ongoing agitation keeps the story alive, with the obvious goal of getting Congress to give college football (and the other sports) the coveted antitrust exemption through the Protect College Sports Act.
For now, the SEC is experiencing the chaos it deserves. The issue is a byproduct of the reckoning that followed decades of exploiting players through the creation of a govening body that prevented any of them from getting anything more than a free education, regardless of the real value of the services they provide to their schools.