Moments before the temporary restraining order hearing in the SEC's lawsuit against LSU, Lane Kiffin and others was set to begin, it was announced that the hearing had been continued and would be rescheduled for a later date. It is unclear when that will be, if ever.
It marks a significant cooling of a situation that burned red hot on Tuesday when the SEC that set the stage for a possible expulsion of LSU.
"Forced association with a member whose conduct is antithetical to the SEC's mission and core values violates the Conference's fundamental First Amendment rights," reads the SEC's updated filing. " has rejected those core values repeatedly and publicly. An injunction is necessary to prevent the irreparable harm that the SEC will suffer if it cannot remove a member to avoid association of the Conference's name, brand, championships, and media properties with the conduct and views that the Conference and its member institutions have condemned for decades. "
Before the possibility of expulsion could even set in, the school decided Tuesday to give up on rostering Dae'Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris, two former players who signed professional contracts, and instead locked in its 105-player roster without them. It wasn't a particularly shocking decision, as LSU had already left the pair off its roster last Friday despite the players winning the right to do so from a Baton Rouge judge.
Additionally, LSU president Wade Rousse sent a letter to SEC commissioner Greg Sankey promising that LSU "will not challenge, disrupt or seek to cancel or postpone" a meeting scheduled for Thursday between the other 15 SEC presidents and chancellors, which was expected to include a discussion about expelling LSU from the conference. Yahoo Sports later reported it was no longer part of the agenda.
"The roster is now locked for the season," Rousse wrote to Sankey in a memo. "LSU complied with SEC rules. The issue is moot. "
It may not be quite as simple as Rousse hopes, but it is clear from LSU's recent actions that the school is hoping to move on from its unprecedented legal battle with the SEC. Expelling LSU was always the nuclear option that no one wanted to do unless absolutely necessary.
But it was clear that the SEC was serious about holding the line in the first real test of the conference's ability to enforce its own rules in this particularly litigious environment. Had LSU refused to comply, sources had
