Sen. Kennedy Says SEC’s Threat To College ‘Bone Deep Down To The Marrow Stupid’

Interesting bill cassidy, college football, congress, john kennedy, lawsuit, lsu, sec admin September 9, 2026 0 Comments

Sen. Kennedy Says SEC’s Threat To College ‘Bone Deep Down To The Marrow Stupid’

Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana tore into the Southeastern Conference (SEC) on Wednesday over its recent threat to kick out LSU, with the senator calling the lawsuit “bone deep down to the marrow stupid.” He also admonished conference leadership for taking the conflict to Capitol Hill.

The SEC escalated the legal dispute with the university as it amended a federal lawsuit Sept. 8 and ordered a vote among its member presidents where the potential of terminating LSU’s membership would be considered. The move stems from LSU’s deliberations on adding former NFL undrafted free agents Dae‘Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris to its roster under a state court injunction, which the SEC alleges violates its established restrictions geared against professional athletes. (RELATED: SEC Files Lawsuit Against LSU As School Plans On Playing Professional Athletes)

By escalating the dispute to the federal court, the SEC has effectively invited federal oversight into college athletics, opening the door for lawmakers to intervene.

Kennedy made clear that he and fellow lawmakers will not stand idly by if the conference takes further action against one of its founding institutions.

“Bone deep down to the marrow stupid. I’ve got rocks in my driveway that are smarter than that. They’re not going to throw LSU out of the SEC. Let me tell you something, I and a lot of other people in the United States Congress will be on them like a hobo on a ham sandwich.”

“LSU hasn’t done anything wrong. It’s called a court of law,” the senator asserted. “God made courts to decide disputes. We didn’t just do stuff. We went to court, and we’re going to abide by the court’s decision. But they’re not going to start all this stuff.”

The SEC argues in its federal filing that the action taken has been necessary in order to protect its constitutional rights to maintain its organizational rules.

The conference filed to protect its right for “consideration by the CEOs of the SEC weather to terminate the membership of LSU,” stating the lawsuit serves to “vindicate its First Amendment right of expressive association, i.e. its right not to be forced to associate its competitions, brand, and championships with conduct that it has not expressly condemned.”

Peer Louisiana lawmaker Sen. Bill Cassidy joined Kennedy in calling out the conference’s enforcement strategy, highlighting the existing exemptions in the conference pertaining to international athletes.

“Student-athletes should actually be students. The SEC is threatening LSU while the same conference allows athletes who spent YEARS competing professionally in foreign leagues to play immediately. The apparent hypocrisy is hard to square when professional experience is treated one way in one situation and entirely different in another. Student-athletes deserve clear, consistent rules.”

Despite the SEC’s filings, LSU has since filled its open roster spots, reaching the 105-man limit and bringing to a close the possibility of Wright or Harris playing for the Tigers for the 2026-2027 season.