RJ Luis’ legal efforts to play college basketball were rewarded Wednesday.
The former St. John’s star is temporarily eligible to play for coach Will Wade at LSU after a Baton Rouge judge signed an injunction Wednesday afternoon restraining LSU and the Southeastern Conference, which prevents the conference from imposing sanctions on the program for Luis’ enrollment, said Tony Clayton, one of Luis’ attorneys.
Representatives from LSU and the SEC will appear at a preliminary injunction hearing on Nov. 13 that will determine whether Luis will remain eligible. At this time, nothing can be done to prevent Luis from playing in the season opener on Nov. 3 against LSU New Orleans at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
“Right now they’re temporarily banned, so they can’t do anything to him,” Clayton said. “He can practice, he can play games, whatever, until the 13th.”
An LSU spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment on whether the Tigers planned to enroll Luis until a Nov. 13 hearing.
Attorneys Clayton and Elliot Abrams asked the Louisiana judge to block the SEC and Commissioner Greg Sankey from penalizing LSU if it is placed on the list, according to a motion filed Tuesday and obtained by The Advocate.
Clayton said the motion sent to the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge amended an Aug. 3 lawsuit to include the SEC, specifically Sankey, and the LSU Board of Supervisors as defendants. Luis’ representatives don’t want to prevent LSU from following through on its previous plans to add Luis to the roster.
“My client, Mr. Luis, felt it was in his best interest to file this complaint against LSU and the SEC because of the actions of the commissioner and the threat of the commissioner,” said Clayton, the West Baton Rouge District Attorney. “LSU may be intimidated by ‘Kim Jong’ Sankey, but we’re not.”
Clayton explained why LSU is being added to the lawsuit in its quest for a preliminary injunction and a permanent injunction.
“The reason we brought LSU into the suit is because LSU is threatened by Mr. Sankey,” Clayton said. “LSU is a great institution. Coach Wade is a good guy, a good coach, but both of them have to be forced to allow RJ to play basketball since he’s obviously qualified. And not have the threat of the SEC, which threatens LSU. Basically preventing Coach Will Wade from letting this kid exercise his fundamental right to play basketball.”
Clayton clarified that LSU and its basketball program had no involvement in his client’s latest legal actions.
“LSU had nothing to do with this,” he said. “I’m sure LSU doesn’t like the fact that we went after them. I know Coach Wade doesn’t like the fact that I had to go after his immediate supervisor. But it’s not about them.
“It’s about RJ Luis, and I hope LSU understands that. If they don’t understand that, it’s their fault. It’s not about LSU. LSU is obligated to not allow RJ to exercise his constitutional right to play basketball. So it’s not personal.”
At SEC media days on Oct. 13, Wade was asked about the status of Luis, who had previously practiced with the team, after he did not appear for the first exhibition game against McNeese State five days earlier.
“We’re going to follow all the SEC protocols with him,” Wade said during a virtual call. “I think the SEC protocols on all of this are pretty clear. He didn’t travel with us to McNeese and he wasn’t put on the roster.”
The SEC established penalties for programs that added an athlete who previously signed a professional contract with an NFL, NBA or WNBA franchise, including a fine equal to 50 percent of a team’s budget and a half-season suspension for its coach.
“This controversy is ripe,” Luis’ petition states. “LSU harms Mr. Luis as a result of this policy and will continue to do so unless a court rules otherwise. Mr. Luis is entitled to declaratory relief and injunctive relief against the LSU Board of Trustees.”
Luis’ motion also directly stated that it was not asking the court “to order LSU to enroll him, play him, or make a coaching decision.” The petition said the order would protect LSU by preventing SEC rules from taking effect, so that “any penalty the Conference imposes on LSU for complying would punish obedience to an order of this Court.”
Clayton said if a preliminary injunction is granted, the next step would be a trial for a permanent injunction.
Luis, who previously signed an NBA contract after going undrafted in the 2025 draft, was granted a preliminary injunction against the NCAA by Judge Ronald Johnson on Aug. 24 in a Baton Rouge court. This made him eligible for another season despite leaving college basketball after his junior season at St. John’s to pursue his NBA career.
An SEC spokesperson told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he had no immediate comment on the latest actions by Luis’ lawyers. The SEC is already defending a federal lawsuit in Alabama over LSU’s efforts to add Luis, arguing the school failed to comply with the conference’s professionalism rule.
SEC rules banning certain former professional football players have also been challenged by LSU football.
The conference was going to hold a vote on September 10 to decide whether to expel LSU. That vote did not come after LSU football coach Lane Kiffin did not add tight ends Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris, who had both signed with NFL teams. Both players were also clients of Clayton when they obtained preliminary injunctions for a fifth year of eligibility.
In September, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill filed a motion to dismiss the SEC’s lawsuit against herself and several LSU officials because LSU had failed to enroll those football players and the issue was “moot.”
Before Luis’ connection with LSU, he was a part of two NBA organizations.
After going undrafted in 2025, he signed a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz in June 2025 before being traded to the Boston Celtics two months later. Luis was waived by the Celtics in October 2025 before signing a deal with his NBA G League affiliate, the Maine Celtics. He was sidelined by the G League team before the start of the season due to injury.
Luis averaged 18.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game at St. John’s during the 2024-25 season, earning Big East Player of the Year honors. He entered the transfer portal but did not commit to a new school, deciding to remain in the 2025 draft.
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