What would SEC football be without LSU? Tigers fans might have had to find out if ChatGPT’s legal advice got its way. Louisiana State University coach Lane Kiffin made a controversial decision by pushing for two players to play another collegiate season after they signed NFL contracts. This led the SEC to schedule a vote on expelling LSU, a founding member of the 94-year-old conference.
An ESPN report on Kiffin now says that the coach backed up his position with screenshots of ChatGPT advice, nearly leading the LSU Tigers into an own goal. If true, that would add him to a roster of entrepreneurs and executives who have consulted chatbots, rather than attorneys, for decisions on complicated contract matters.
NCAA Rules and a Push for More
Coach Kiffin’s decision came as part of a broader dispute on the rights and obligations of student-athletes in the NCAA. This June, the NCAA adopted the new “five-for-five” rule, which gives Division I student-athletes five seasons of eligibility over five years “to be completed within five years of high school graduation or an athlete's 19th birthday, whichever comes first.”
Kiffin moved to take Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris, former Ole Miss players, because they had not completed those five years. However, both of them had signed NFL contracts. NCAA Rule 12.2.4 forbids a player to “enter into any kind of agreement to compete in professional athletics.” In August, the SEC voted to stiffen its penalties for any violating school: “a half-season suspension for a coach, a fine that matches 50% of the sport's annual budget and revocation of league voting rights.” Still, Kiffin wanted Wright and Harris to play, and he was willing to fight for it even against the SEC rules and the league itself.
In Louisiana state court, Wright and Harris, along with roughly 30 other athletes, were successful in asserting their right to return to college for another athletic season. The SEC soon filed a federal lawsuit against LSU and Lane Kiffin. More than that, they scheduled a vote on the potential expulsion of LSU from the conference.
During this time, Tom Mars — a lawyer friend of Lane Kiffin’s — reported that Kiffin was relying on ChatGPT: “Lane would reply [to Mars’ opinion'] with a screenshot from ChatGPT that supported LSU's position, which was almost always wrong.” ChatGPT did not ultimately prevail. Although a Baton Rouge state judge confirmed Wright’s and Harris’ eligibility under the five-for-five rule, Kiffin and LSU backed down and did not roster them.
AI as Advisor
Lane Kiffin is not the only executive to rely on ChatGPT or other AI tools to make or back up his business decisions.
No one, it seems, is in a position too crucial to consider it. Earlier this year, a gaming company CEO used ChatGPT to try to avoid paying multimillion-dollar bonuses for the popular Subnautica game franchise, leading to a disaster in court. At the other end of the scale, a NYC small business advice chatbot, specifically created to help owners, advised illegal actions. Recently, a bridal business owner filed a federal lawsuit over inaccuracies in ChatGPT’s legal advice. Her complaint says that ChatGPT’s current practices “present an ongoing risk of similar harm to other consumers and business users who may reasonably rely upon [OpenAI’s] paid platform in commercially significant contexts.”
Should anyone be left hanging for relying on the best tools they have? Live lawyers and consultants cost money that small business owners almost never have. And although — as Tom Mars said of Kiffin — “a guy with a $91 million contract” can afford a retainer, he should also be able to understand when to rely on generative AI, and when not to. Wider AI literacy efforts could help decision-makers understand how to tell when to trust AI tools, and how much.
