Why SEC will win case vs. LSU, according to legal expert

The SEC and LSU are involved in a legal battle over the future of former NFL players who did not make NFL rosters trying to return to the college football ranks. LSU has brought in multiple players who have yet to play an NFL game but participated in the NFL preseason. The SEC had considered “extreme measures” in order to prevent this.

This week, there are pending court appearances on both sides, and one legal expert believes the SEC will prevail over LSU, per Pete Thamel of ESPN.

“This is just one lawyer’s opinion. In my opinion, hands down, the SEC is going to win this case. I don’t think there’s any question about it. Why? Well, like most legal questions, that could be a long answer,” lawyer Tom Mars said on the College GameDay podcast.  “But I’ll put it this way. Having dealt with the NCAA many, many times. Having handled the Chamblas case, you can see his signed jersey behind me. I totally understand how the law works in this area. But the SEC is vastly different than the NCAA when it comes to the legal claim that the plaintiffs are advancing. It is not going to be possible for them to sustain that claim.”

The SEC is claiming that their potential punishments for teams who field pro players, including massive penalties for the school that fields those players, are just. Meanwhile, the players attempting to go to LSU are claiming they never appeared for an NFL team, and therefore should be granted eligibility. They would get eligibility either from not playing four years, excluding a redshirt season, or under the other TRO against the NCAA that allows players to play five years after high school, regardless of game count.

“Now, we have a temporary restraining order, which by definition is temporary,” Mars continued. “The judge in the Baton Rouge case is going to be under immense political pressure to rule in favor of the plaintiff. There’s no doubt about that. But that’s not necessarily going to be true at the next level, the Louisiana Court of Appeals. Why? Because they’re elected to 10-year terms, whereas district judges are elected to six-year terms. And appellate judges, whether they’re in Louisiana or Montana or Arkansas, are different than district judges.  They are obsessed about the law, following the law, and they know that in this case, the people of Louisiana expect them to apply the evidence and the law. And there’s one other thing that’s unique about Louisiana courts. The court of appeals in Louisiana can review the facts, the evidence, the facts in the record, and the law. Whereas in almost every other state, I’m not sure there’s another state that does this, in Georgia and Arkansas, where I’m licensed, the Court of Appeals has to give great deference to the trial judge’s findings of fact. Not so in Louisiana.”

Lane Kiffin and LSU are already being roasted for trying to bring in NFL players, but Kiffin and the Tigers are looking forward to resolution. Teams that play Saturday have to submit their 105-man rosters on Friday.

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