re: JBE, TOPS, and the 2016 LSU Baseball Class

It is disgraceful for the Governor Edwards to use LSU athletics and the TOPS program as political footballs in his political gamesmanship. Even if he does not in fact end up touching either, he has already inflicted damage. The uncertainty it creates has a chilling effect. You can say that it is all bluster but the fact is that what the governor has said is officially out there. You can be certain that coaches like Saban, Bielema, Freeze, Sumlin, Meyer, along with boosters/recruiters at schools like Alabama, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, etc, will bring this up to create an air of instability and future uncertainty regarding LSU athletics.

What will be the commitment to future coaches' salaries and length of contracts? How much will President Alexander raid LSU athletic funding to satisfy his academic bottom line? How much will Governor Edwards press Alexander to squeeze more money away from LSU athletics and hinder plans to invest in athletic infrastructure?

From my perspective, LSU boosters and athletic personnel need to very quickly establish a firewall; make it very clear to the governor and the president just how much interference they will tolerate. There should be a bright red line around their territory. That is, if LSU boosters are capable of doing so. Perhaps they are unable to bring enough power to bear to do so.