Breaking down the layers to Tennessee's legal battle vs. NCAA

Tennessee and the NCAA are in the midst of a legal battle after news broke last week that the NCAA is investigating UT for NIL related violations.

On3’s Andy Staples joined The Paul Finebaum Show on Monday and was asked for his thoughts on what is happening with the NCAA and Tennessee.

Staples shared that it’s a complicated situation.

“It’s wild. I was at the Senior Bowl and I’m just trying to watch 1-on-1 pass protection drills, and all of a sudden Tennessee’s chancellor’s just blasting the NCAA. It was incredible to watch,” Staples said. “And Tennessee put itself in this precarious position, because they weaponized the NCAA enforcement process to fire Jeremy Pruitt for free. Like, the story just gets better and better the more layers that you pile on top of it.”

The recruitment of Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava is reportedly a part of the NCAA investigation, which spans across multiple sports.

The Tennessee Attorney General and Virginia Attorney General have filed a lawsuit against the NCAA. As Staples points out, how the court rules is incredibly important.

“You’ve got the Tennessee Attorney General and Virginia Attorney General suing the NCAA, which really was Tennessee’s only option at this point, because if they get in trouble again, they’re a repeat violator. But if you just get the rules to declare you legal then you can’t get in trouble,” Staples said.

“So there’s a hearing next Tuesday, and who knows, maybe the rules get declared legal and then they won’t be in trouble.”

Tennessee, Virginia issue response in NIL lawsuit against NCAA

The Attorney General in Tennessee and Virginia filed their response Sunday to the NCAA, supporting a temporary restraining order that would lift the ban on NIL in high school recruiting.

In a 16-page response issued after the NCAA filed its opposition to the TRO on Saturday, the two states argued they’re seeking the Eastern District of Tennessee to lift the NIL-recruiting ban to “engage in meaningful NIL discussions with collectives.” The response also pushes back on the premise the TRO and preliminary injunction would permit pay-for-play.

This all comes in the wake of the NCAA launching an investigation into Tennessee athletics this past week for multiple potential NIL violations. The Tennessee AG and Virginia AG filed the antitrust lawsuit last Wednesday with a request for a TRO before Tuesday, Feb. 6 – the day before National Signing Day. A preliminary injunction hearing has been scheduled for Monday, Feb. 13.

“To the extent there’s confusion on which rules the NCAA thinks give it the power to enforce the NIL-recruiting ban, that problem is one of the NCAA’s own creation,” the filing states. “The NCAA cannot benefit from the fact that its rules – scattered across a 437-page manual – are often impenetrable, shifting, and vague. Any uncertainty or burden from that approach to governance should fall on the drafter, the NCAA, not on prospective athletes.”

On3’s Pete Nakos contributed to this report