What SEC's lawsuit against LSU means for Lane Kiffin, former NFL players and more originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.The SEC is not backing down when it comes to former NFL players returning to play college football. On Thursday, the conference filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama against both LSU and Tigers head coach Lane Kiffin.According to On3 Sports, the lawsuit specifically names LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry, the school's president Wade Rousse, as well as head coach Lane Kiffin. The lawsuit comes just days before LSU is set to take on the Clemson Tigers on Saturday night to open the 2026 season.The move is an immediate escalation of the battle that has been brewing between the SEC and LSU and Lane Kiffin. Kiffin and LSU recently signed former NFL players Zxavian Harris and Dae'Quan Wright last week, which resulted in the conference passing a rule barring former professional athletes from returning to play college football.Let's take a look at the new lawsuit and what it means for LSU and Kiffin.MORE:How good are LSU's pro players, really?SEC files lawsuit against LSU, Lane KiffinAccording to Pete Nakos of On3Sports, the conference is asking the court to enter a preliminary and permanent injunction prohibiting Defendants from violating the Conferences First Amendment rights by compelling the Conference to associate with conduct that is contrary to the Conferences purpose and mission.The new suit was filed on the same day that a Baton Rouge appeals court is hearing arguments from the SEC against the temporary restraining order granted last week that allowed Harris and Wright to return to LSU. Harris was playing for the New Orleans Saints last month, but was cut in early August.Wright had been playing for the Cleveland Browns, but was waived on Aug. 23, allowing him to sign with LSU. LSU was also reportedly interested in signing former EDGE rusher Jack Pyburn, who was playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Despite being waived by Tampa last week, he has since joined the Kansas City Chiefs and remains in the NFL. Both Harris and Wright played for Kiffin at Ole Miss last season.Defendants waged a deliberate and coordinated campaign to recruit professional athletes to play football for LSU during the 2026-27 season," the complaint, obtained by On3, reads. "Including players who had signed NFL contracts with the Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.MORE:8 reasons why we still love CFB heading into 2026What SEC lawsuit means for LSU and moreFor now, the lawsuit is an attempt to prevent both Harris and Wright from playing for LSU, which takes on Clemson at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday in Baton Rouge. Both Wright and Harris have reportedly been practicing with the Tigers in the week leading up to the game, so it appears that Coach Kiffin could indeed be planning to play both guys.As Nakos points out, SEC teams have 24 hours before a game to submit their full rosters, so this lawsuit comes in the nick of time.In an ironic twist, the SEC's Greg Sankey was testifying in Baton Rouge at the same time the lawsuit was filed:Interesting nugget: As the SEC's federal lawsuit against LSU was filed and became public, commissioner Greg Sankey was on the stand testifying in the preliminary injunction hearing in a Baton Rouge court.You cannot make it up. https://t.co/93164jK0Ph Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) September 3, 2026The SEC filing federally against LSU always loomed as the most likely option. The timing 42 minutes after the state court hearing started was a surprise. A buzz went through the courtroom, where theres no electronics for media, as a plaintiffs attorney revealed the suit https://t.co/kDhTwUoxdr Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 3, 2026Lane KiffinFor now, the SEC puts Kiffin directly in its crosshairs with the lawsuit in naming him as a defendant. The first-year Tigers head coach has vehemently defended his signing of the players. Last week, emphasized that if LSU didn't sign these players, another team would."At the end of the day, because of these rulings, they're either going to play for you or they're going to play for someone else around the country," Kiffin told reporters at a press conference. "So we've made the decision to recruit them like probably most people are."Kiffin said this week that while he struggled with the decision to add Wright and Harris, he met with his teams leadership council, which consists of veteran players about them joining the team.And every one of them is emphatic about, They can help us win, bring them,'" Kiffin said via The Athletic. We have a team thats practiced together, worked together, all offseason. But let me say, this is how it works at the next level, and this is how the real world works. They can bring employees into certain jobs to help the company. So that made me feel a little better in the struggle and being torn back and forth.Lane Kiffin said he makes every decision in the best interest of players that sit in my team room and not for my reputation. pic.twitter.com/MrayR6SWK8 Brad Crawford (@BCrawford247) September 1, 2026The SEC, as well as commissioner Greg Sankey, has been outspoken about former NFL players returning to college. Sankey came out against former pro players returning to college in a filing last month in the court case. Via ESPN:Sankey asked Judge Ronald Johnson in East Baton Rouge Parish court to uphold NCAA rules that prevent athletes from returning, saying the decision is "essential to the integrity of college sports." He wrote that allowing pros back into NCAA competition would undermine the "fundamental principles" of college sports and unfairly harm high school students looking to join a college team as well as other teams that have followed the existing rules."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."LSU head basketball coach Will Wade also signed former Big East Player of the Year RJ Luis to his roster, despite him signing contracts with the Utah Jazz and Boston Celtics' G League team earlier this summer.Former NFL playersFor now, it's unclear whether or not Harris or Wright will play for LSU on Saturday, despite them having practices. Although there is not an updated depth chart for LSU just yet, Harris and Wright would be projected to be on the second team for the Tigers.During Harris' senior season at Ole Miss in 2025, he had a breakout year, making 15 starts for Ole Miss and finishing with 58 total tackles with 27 solo stops. He added a career-high three sacks with an interception. During Wright's senior season at Ole Miss, he had his best season as a senior year as a full-time starter, getting a career-high 39 receptions for 635 yards with five touchdowns, averaging 16.3 yards per reception.LSU football programThe SEC was reportedly already weighing harsh punishments for schools like LSU that defy the conference's rules on signing former players. According to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports earlier this week, the conference was weighing "extreme measures" such as boycotting competition against the Tigers, sanctioning the school with probation or even expulsion, as well as filing a lawsuit. So it appears that the SEC has chosen the latter of the two.MORE COLLEGE FOOTBALL NEWS:Ranking every college football team 1-138College football coach hot seat rankingsRanking college football coaches 1-138 for 2026 season7 most compelling transfers for the 2026 season