Mike Johnson Sends ‘Let LSU Be LSU’ Message Amid SEC Expulsion Threat
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LSU’s fight with the SEC has officially grown beyond the normal boundaries of college football.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, an LSU graduate, has now weighed in on the escalating dispute between his alma mater and the conference. Johnson even floated the possibility of helping mediate the situation as SEC leaders prepare to determine what comes next for the Tigers.
The New York Post reported Wednesday that Johnson believes the two sides need to find a way forward rather than allowing the situation to continue escalating.
“I think cooler heads need to prevail,” Johnson said. “We need to let LSU be LSU and play our games.”
Johnson also told the Post he would “not mind being a mediator” if an opportunity arose to help the two sides resolve the dispute.
Mike Johnson Weighs In as LSU Faces SEC Decision
The fact that one of the highest-ranking elected officials in the country is even discussing the possibility of mediating a college football dispute shows how far the LSU situation has traveled.
The controversy stems from LSU’s effort under head coach Lane Kiffin to add players who had already signed professional contracts and spent time in NFL training camps. A court ruling opened the door for players to regain college eligibility, but the SEC challenged LSU’s efforts and has maintained that its member institutions should not use players who have already entered the professional ranks.
The situation escalated to the point that SEC presidents and chancellors were scheduled to discuss LSU’s membership in the conference. Heavy previously reported that at least 11 schools would need to support removing LSU for an expulsion to occur.
LSU has since backed away from adding Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris to its 105-player roster, but that decision has not completely erased the larger dispute between the school and conference.
LSU Drama Has Grown Far Beyond Football
Johnson’s comments add another surreal chapter to a story that began as an eligibility question.
Kiffin pushing the boundaries of an evolving college football landscape was already fascinating. The matter then moved into courtrooms, generated the possibility of LSU being removed from the SEC and has now reached the point where the Speaker of the House is publicly volunteering to help cool the situation down.
Johnson’s LSU connection makes his interest understandable, but it also illustrates just how much attention this fight has generated outside Baton Rouge.
The immediate question remains what SEC leadership decides to do with LSU. Whatever happens next, the Tigers’ battle with the conference has become considerably larger than an argument over who should be allowed to suit up on Saturdays.
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