Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey filed an affidavit in a Louisiana courthouse last week to prevent athletes who’ve signed professional contracts from returning to college, ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Dan Murphy reported Thursday.
Sankey objected to such a move last year by Charles Bediako of Alabama, filing a similar complaint during the NCAA basketball season. The judge in Bediako’s case ruled in favor of upholding the NCAA’s rules.
“Permitting former professional athletes to return to competition creates a competitive disadvantage and fundamental unfairness for current student-athletes who have not pursued a professional sports career but instead have maintained their commitment to the collegiate athletics model,’’ Sankey wrote in his affidavit to Judge Ronald Johnson.
The timing of Sankey’s document coincides with a preliminary injunction next Monday, Aug. 24, in an East Baton Rouge Parish courthouse where LSU commitment RJ Luis has filed a lawsuit to gain his eligibility and play the upcoming 2026-27 season. He signed a deal with two NBA teams after being named the Big East Conference’s Player of the Year, but contends he never played in an NBA game or in the summer league.
Luis began his career at UMass before going on to play at St. John’s for two years. He signed a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz and Boston Celtics in 2025 and briefly appeared in three NBA preseason games. An injury prevented him from playing last season in the G League.
Sankey contended that enabling professional athletes to reenter college for competition would undercut the “fundamental principles” of college athletes and unjustly damage the recruiting process for high school students.
“These rules are grounded in the principle that athletics are an integral part of the academic experience,” Sankey wrote. “The rules align the time permitted for college athletics with the pursuit of an undergraduate education and further the important purpose of preserving opportunities for future student-athletes to participate in college sports.”
A day earlier, in the same courtroom Luis’ case will be heard, a judge granted a total of 32 athletes – including three football players currently on NFL rosters – a temporary restraining order so they could return to college and compete this fall.
One such athlete was former LSU defensive end Jack Pyburn who recorded two sacks in last Saturday’s NFL preseason game for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the New York Jets. Pyburn, who spent the first three years of his career at Florida, signed with Tampa Bay as a free agent following the 2025 season with the Tigers.
First-year LSU basketball coach Will Wade is also waiting for eligibility verdicts on international players Brice Dessert, Marcio Santos, Saliou Niang and Michael Ruzic. Wade also recruited 25-year-old Yam Madar of Israel, a 2020 draft choice by the Celtics, who appears doubtful of playing in college.
