Kiffin Used ChatGPT for Legal Advice Against SEC — SkimNews
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- Lane Kiffin texted attorney Tom Mars screenshots of ChatGPT legal opinions backing LSU's position during the SEC dispute; Mars said the AI's conclusions were 'almost always wrong' and warned a $91 million coach should have a real lawyer on speed dial.
- The SEC threatened any school that rostered former NFL, NBA or WNBA players with a fine equal to 50% of the sport's annual operating budget and a half-season suspension for the head coach.
- Former Ole Miss players Dae'Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris won a preliminary injunction in Louisiana state court allowing them to return to college for one more season, but LSU ultimately did not add them to its roster.
- The SEC filed a federal lawsuit against LSU in Alabama the same day commissioner Greg Sankey was testifying in Baton Rouge state court, and later scheduled a member-university presidents' vote that could have expelled the Tigers from the conference.
- Wright and Harris are among more than 600 former student-athletes suing for an extra year of eligibility under the NCAA's new "five-for-five" rule.
- The Sept. 3 Baton Rouge hearing drew a colorful legal cast: district attorneys Tony Clayton and Jason Williams squared off, Louisiana AG Liz Murrill filed an amicus brief, and Sankey testified for more than three hours.
Why it matters: With more than 600 former athletes in similar eligibility lawsuits, the outcome of this fight shapes whether rosters across college football could be flooded with ex-pros or whether conferences can wall them off. LSU won its state-court injunction yet still declined to roster the players, showing that even a $91 million coach treats the SEC's threat of expulsion as the decisive factor over a legal victory.
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