Gov. Landry: SEC ‘Creating a Legal Mess’ Over Athlete Eligibility

As a potential legal battle between LSU and the SEC looms, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has issued a statement in LSU’s defense.

“This whole thing is ridiculous. Don’t hate the player, hate the game,” Landry said in a statement to Front Office Sports on Wednesday afternoon.

It’s hardly the first time the governor has involved himself in a controversy surrounding the Tigers athletic department. But it is the first time he has publicly commented on the SEC’s subsequent attempt to block LSU from signing two football players who participated in NFL preseason activities.

“I’ve been saying for a year that college sports need to be fixed. The NCAA could have done it. Congress could have done it. Neither did,” Landry said. “Now the SEC is creating a legal mess over athletes it told were out of eligibility, only to change the rules afterward. The SEC accepted the courts’ decisions on Diego Pavia and Trinidad Chambliss. Why is this different? You can’t tell athletes their college careers are over, watch them move on, change the rules later, and then punish them for not predicting the future.”

The situation Landry was referring to began this summer, when the NCAA implemented a new age-based eligibility policy offering players five seasons of eligibility—but excluding players who entered college in 2022 and had already completed four years. Many of these players sued for a fifth year. In one case last week, a Louisiana judge ruled that several of these players could return to college football despite having signed NFL contracts, appeared on NFL rosters, and participated in preseason activities. 

LSU has since said it would sign two of those players—Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris. But on Tuesday, the SEC attempted to block LSU from doing so by implementing a policy preventing professional athletes from returning to SEC schools. 

Despite the announcement, Wright’s representative, Darren Heitner, told FOS Wright’s camp still believes LSU intends to sign him. Meanwhile, attorneys leading the lawsuit were planning to take additional action to ensure the temporary restraining order would apply to the SEC as well as the NCAA. (LSU has not yet commented.)

Landry, for his part, has taken an interest in the success of LSU football.

Last fall, Landry hosted a meeting that resulted in the firing of former LSU football coach Brian Kelly. He then effectively forced out former athletic director Scott Woodward and gave his blessing to Lane Kiffin and his $91 million contract when the Tigers landed the former Ole Miss coach.

Landry also hand-picked current LSU president Wade Rousse, who reportedly voted Tuesday night in favor of the SEC’s new policy but abstained from voting Wednesday on the harsh penalties the conference suggested. In his statement, Landry did not address whether he had advised Rousse directly on this matter.

Landry’s comments come as the college sports world waits on LSU’s next move—and as other conferences have begun to discuss and pass similar policies, most recently the Big 12. 

A spokesperson for the SEC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.