LSU Won’t Roster Ex-NBA Player As SEC Legal Battle Continues

LSU has taken another step toward thawing relations with the SEC in the hopes of getting the conference’s lawsuit dismissed.

On Tuesday, LSU filed another motion asking to dismiss the case, written by Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill. The filing came just hours after reports surfaced that men’s basketball coach Will Wade has opted not to roster RJ Luis Jr., the former G League player who signed multiple NBA contracts but who received an injunction this summer to suit up for the Tigers this season. 

“Enough is enough,” Murrill wrote on behalf of LSU. “There is no good reason to waste this Court’s time and resources—the Court should summarily dismiss the SEC’s complaint without prejudice to the SEC’s ability to file a real case.”

Though recent court filings have focused on the LSU men’s basketball roster, the dispute originally began with the football program. In August, head coach Lane Kiffin offered roster spots to Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris, two players who were suing the NCAA to challenge the implementation of its new age-based eligibility policy, seeking a fifth season of eligibility. Though the players were two of hundreds of athletes suing the NCAA for another year, they were unique in that they had signed NFL preseason contracts and appeared on NFL rosters over the summer.

As a result, the SEC passed a rule preventing professional players in football and basketball from returning to play for SEC schools. When it appeared LSU would roster them anyway (provided they received a court order allowing them to do so), the SEC sued LSU and threatened to kick them out of the conference.

Ultimately, Kiffin opted not to roster Wright and Harris. But questions still swirled about a similar dispute on Wade’s men’s basketball program, particularly with regard to Luis, who had won an injunction to pay this season but whose resume made him ineligible under the SEC’s policy. 

In September, Wade refused to name Luis during press conferences, stating that the SEC would use his words against him. Last week, however, he said that Luis had not yet been rostered and had not traveled with the team for exhibition games. 

But hours after those comments, the SEC submitted a court filing suggesting it wasn’t convinced LSU would abide by its rules. “LSU has openly recruited former NBA player RJ Luis Jr., has allowed him to practice with LSU’s men’s basketball team, and has refused to publicly and definitively state that he will not be included on LSU’s basketball roster, which is not due for several more weeks,” the SEC wrote. The conference also referenced international player Sailou Niang, who may have also violated the SEC’s pro player policy.

The court filing also noted the SEC was seeking a legal response to the existential question of whether a conference could legally enforce rules against its own members. 

Now, in an attempt to end the litigation and ease tensions, Wade has decided not to roster Luis permanently—just as Kiffin did with the Tigers football program. (Niang, however, has been cleared by the NCAA and the SEC has decided to allow him to play as well, according to multiple reports.)  

Murrill’s court filing appeared to confirm this stance, calling the SEC’s basketball allegation a “Hail Mary” that was “demonstrably false.”