LSU voted with the SEC on Tuesday. Twenty-four hours later, when the conference attached teeth to the rule, the Tigers quietly stepped away from the table.
That distinction is what set off another round of criticism Wednesday.
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LSU president Wade Rousse abstained from the SEC’s formal vote approving penalties for schools that play former professional athletes, even though Rousse and athletic director Verge Ausberry supported the underlying eligibility rule the day before.
LSU’s Abstention Gives Fans Fresh Ammunition
CBS Sports reported that the penalty structure passed 15-0, with LSU the only SEC school not voting. The consequences are substantial: a head coach could be suspended for 50% of the season, while the school could be fined 50% of that sport’s operating budget in case of a violation.
Rebel Viewpoint did not bother easing into the reaction.
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“LSU DIDN’T WANT TO VOTE LMFAOOOOOOO,” the account wrote in a fan post. “LSU is the laughing stock of College Football.”
Rick Saratoga took aim at the school’s broader role in the eligibility fight, writing in another response, “LSU really loves trying to ruin college sports.”
KC Gamecock focused on the timing. The account argued in its reply that LSU had already backed the rule Tuesday and suggested the abstention reflected an unwillingness to reverse course publicly after Lane Kiffin spent days defending the program’s pursuit of former NFL players.
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Big Ten information and news went further, accusing LSU of going “rogue” in its reaction and calling for heavy fines and suspensions if the Tigers challenged the conference policy.
David Gladow boiled the optics down to one sentence in his response: “LSU’s admin abstaining = they [expletive] off everyone. Amazing.”
The fan anger is partly driven by the fact that LSU helped create the situation the SEC is now trying to stop.
Kiffin’s NFL-to-LSU Push Still Sits at the Center
Kiffin moved aggressively after a Louisiana court temporarily opened a path for players from the 2022 recruiting class to regain another season of eligibility.
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LSU planned to add former Ole Miss tight end Dae’Quan Wright and defensive tackle Zxavian Harris after their NFL stints, with CBS Sports also reporting interest in former Notre Dame defensive end Junior Tuihalamaka.
Kiffin defended the strategy Monday, arguing that players protected by injunctions would play somewhere, so LSU had little reason to sit out the market.
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The talent involved was not theoretical. Wright finished 2025 with an 80.6PFN CFB TE Impact grade, ranking No. 20 nationally, while catching 39 passes for 635 yards and five touchdowns.
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The SEC responded by barring athletes who signed professional contracts, appeared on professional rosters, or failed to properly withdraw from a professional draft. Wednesday’s vote then supplied the punishment.
LSU supported the rule before abstaining from the penalties attached to it. That procedural nuance may matter inside conference offices. On social media, it mostly looked like another reason to pile on.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.
