The more I think about this LSU eligibility nightmare, the more I wonder why the hell Greg Sankey wasn’t raising this same kind of hell when Ole Miss went to a Mississippi courtroom and got Trinidad Chambliss a sixth year of eligibility.
Yes, I understand the cases are technically different. Chambliss never signed an NFL contract. His case involved a medical-redshirt claim from his time at Ferris State. But let’s not ignore the common denominator: the NCAA denied his eligibility, Ole Miss went to state court, and a judge overruled the NCAA.
Where was Sankey’s lawsuit then? Where were the emergency conference rules? Where was all this talk about protecting competitive integrity and preserving the distinction between college and professional football?
Chambliss is reportedly making more money at Ole Miss than most NFL rookies, so spare me the amateurism argument. College football crossed that bridge a long damn time ago.
Apparently, using a state court to get your star quarterback a sixth college season is acceptable, but using one to get two former players their fifth season creates an existential crisis.
The SEC has every right to establish a rule saying that once a player signs a professional contract, his college career is finished. I would actually support that rule. But you establish it before the situation occurs and apply it consistently. You don’t manufacture an emergency after Lane Kiffin and LSU find a loophole you don’t like.
That is what makes this look less like principled leadership and more like selective outrage.
