The SEC faces its first challenge since voting to penalize coaches and schools that play former professional athletes. On Thursday, a Texas judge granted a collection of former college athletes temporary restraining orders against the NCAA, the SEC and commissioner Greg Sankey.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, the SEC unanimously voted to ban professional athletes from returning<\/a> to college, and 15 of the 16 institutions voted to implement strict penalties<\/a> on teams that defy that ban. LSU was the only school that abstained from the second vote.<\/p>\n Three athletes included in the latest Texas ruling — receiver Jordan Hudson (Cowboys), linebacker Wesley Bissainthe (Chiefs) and receiver Omari Evans (Chiefs) — are currently listed on NFL rosters.<\/p>\n This Texas lawsuit is the first to challenge the NCAA and SEC, but it won’t be the last. According to Yahoo Sports<\/a>, the Louisiana eligibility lawsuit has also been amended to include the SEC and Sankey. That suit includes three former Ole Miss players. Two of whom — tight end Dae’Quan Wright and defensive tackle Xzavian Harris — have already committed to LSU.<\/p>\n There was already some obvious tension between LSU and the SEC, and these lawsuits will only intensified it.<\/p>\n The SEC’s penalty structure for playing former professional athletes, which was approved on Wednesday, includes a ban on the head coach for 50% of the season and a financial penalty equal to 50% of the sport’s operation budget. Now that the temporary restraining order has been granted, the conference’s ability to enforce it comes into question.<\/p>\n