Dae’Quan Wright’s route from the Cleveland Browns to LSU has placed Lane Kiffin at the center of college football’s latest eligibility dispute. The former Ole Miss tight end was released by Cleveland and could join LSU if he clears waivers, following a Louisiana court’s temporary order involving players seeking another year of eligibility. The SEC, however, has since adopted its own restriction.

That divided LSU position drew Paul Finebaum’s attention. On Tuesday, LSU president Wade Rousse and athletic director Verge Ausberry joined the SEC’s 16-0 vote backing a rule against former professional athletes playing in the conference. A day later, Rousse abstained as league presidents approved penalties for schools that violate it, with the vote passing 15-0.

Finebaum was furious that school leadership left their coach out on a limb while hiding behind office doors. “I want the LSU president to come here tomorrow and explain to us why he voted for that because until that happens, I don’t know where LSU is,” the veteran analyst said on the Paul Finebaum Show. “Let’s hear from the chief executive officer of this university. And so far, he is hiding in the basement, afraid to speak because we haven’t heard a word from this guy.”

Finebaum’s criticism rests on the pressure LSU’s voting sequence created for Kiffin. Rousse and athletic director Verge Ausberry backed the SEC rule against former professionals returning to the conference, before Rousse abstained from approving the penalties that could punish Kiffin and LSU for violating it.

By voting for the ban but dodging the enforcement vote, LSU became what Finebaum called a renegade school, trying to stack its roster while protecting its executive office from conference heat.

“College football has officially plunged into the abyss,” he recently said on Get Up. “We have never been at a place like this before.”

For Finebaum, Dae’Quan Wright’s case brings the abstract policy dispute into focus. Wright must clear NFL waivers, terminate his professional contract, and repay professional earnings to pursue the relief granted under the temporary order.

“It’s all about Lane Kiffin,” Finebaum said on First Take. “No matter where he is in college football, norms get shattered, and we all get gobsmacked in total.”

The latest Dallas court order involving the players says the NCAA, SEC, and commissioner Greg Sankey cannot prevent the plaintiffs from returning because of their time on a professional roster or transfer-portal issues. If the conferences want to stop them for another reason, they have to take that argument back to court.

While the SEC has moved to restrict former professional athletes from returning to its schools, Kiffin has received public support from Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry. The Governor backed LSU’s position and criticized the conference’s response, arguing that athletes should not be penalized after eligibility rules changed.

“Don’t hate the player, hate the game,” he said via The Advocate’s John Blau. “I’ve been saying for a year that college sports need to be fixed. The NCAA could have done it. Congress could have done it. Neither did. Now the SEC is creating a legal mess over athletes it told were out of eligibility, only to change the rules afterward.”

The SEC is trying to close a door that the courts already opened. LSU is walking through it. Paul Finebaum wants Wade Rousse to explain the flip-flop, while Lane Kiffin takes the public heat.