BATON ROUGE, La. — ESPN’s Paul Finebaum said Wednesday that the Southeastern Conference is weighing a fine against Lane Kiffin, a fine against LSU worth millions of dollars, and a suspension that could run through the Tigers’ Sept. 19 trip to Ole Miss, and that the league’s internal file on Kiffin extends well past his halftime remark on the season opener broadcast.
Finebaum made the comments on ESPN’s First Take, in a segment reported Wednesday morning by On3‘s Nick Schultz.
Finebaum said a federal judge could invalidate the Louisiana ruling that cleared two former NFL players to return to college.
“The SEC will not kick LSU out,” Finebaum said. “They have the right after this vote tomorrow. There is another thing today in federal court. There’s a hearing; a judge may decide that whatever the kangaroo court ruled in Louisiana last week may be invalid. But the big issue is what else are they going to do? Are they going to suspend Lane Kiffin? I promise you, they have a file on Lane Kiffin that is deep. It is not only the Holly Rowe comment. That’s not it.”
Finebaum said the material the conference has collected on Kiffin goes beyond that halftime exchange.
“There is more to the story than just that and they will determine whether they fine him, they fine the university millions of dollars, whether they suspend Kiffin,” Finebaum explained. “Now, think about this: What if they suspended Kiffin for this week and next week, when he returns to Ole Miss to face his former team? It’s possible.”
LSU hosts Louisiana Tech on Saturday at Tiger Stadium, with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network+. The Tigers open conference play the following Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi, where kickoff against Ole Miss is also set for 6:30 p.m. CT on ABC.
The SEC Lawsuit Against LSU, Lane Kiffin, Wade Rousse, And Verge Ausberry
The conference filed suit in Alabama federal court on Sept. 3, naming LSU, Kiffin, university president Wade Rousse, and athletics director Verge Ausberry. The complaint alleged that the school had waged a deliberate and coordinated campaign to recruit professional athletes, according to CNN’s account of the filing. A hearing in the case was scheduled for 1 p.m. CT.
In an amended filing Tuesday, the conference cited comments Kiffin made to ESPN about pro players during the Week 1 win over Clemson. The same amendment set a Thursday meeting for the league to decide whether to terminate LSU as a member institution under Section 3.1.5 of the SEC Constitution and Bylaws.
Tight end Dae’Quan Wright and defensive lineman Zxavian Harris, both of whom played for Kiffin at Ole Miss and spent time with NFL clubs, were granted an additional year of eligibility by a judge in Baton Rouge last week. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey testified during a hearing that ran more than nine hours, after which the judge barred the conference from punishing LSU for rostering the two.
Neither player appeared for LSU in the opener. The Tigers beat Clemson 51-10 at Tiger Stadium on Sept. 5, and Kiffin told sideline reporter Holly Rowe at halftime, with LSU ahead 31-3, “Imagine if we had pro players.”
LSU has since added two other players and reached the 105-man roster limit, closing the door on Wright and Harris, On3’s Wilson Alexander and Pete Nakos reported Tuesday. Attorney Ryan Downton said the two are evaluating legal options.
Paul Finebaum On Greg Sankey, The SEC Presidents, and LSU’s Leadership
Finebaum said Tuesday on ESPN’s Get Up that the conference’s interest is institutional control at LSU rather than Kiffin himself, and that Rousse has been derelict in his duty among the SEC presidents.
“It is a complex situation, but I don’t think Lane Kiffin is out of the woods yet,” Finebaum said. “The conference office is very angry. Not only about what happened at halftime with Holly Rowe, but also with other things we haven’t seen yet that they’re discussing privately.”
Back on First Take, Finebaum said Thursday’s vote carries consequences beyond one program’s schedule.
“I’ll tell you one thing: The SEC can survive and will survive without LSU,” Finebaum explained. “This is far more important than those 102,000 people. This is about the future of college sports right here, and the commissioner and 15 other presidents are sending a message: ‘You guys are spitting in our face, and we’re gonna throw you out if you don’t sit down and get along.’ And if the president at LSU doesn’t stand up, they will do that.”
Sankey and the league’s presidents and chancellors meet Thursday.
