ST. LOUIS – Queens coach Grant Leonard, who earlier this month called out an SEC assistant for sitting courtside at the Atlantic Sun tournament in an effort to begin recruiting one of Leonard’s players, said Thursday he intends to address the topic through the National Association of Basketball Coaches at the appropriate time.

Leonard made headlines when he posted on social media he saw an assistant coach from an unnamed SEC school “buy a courtside seat for one of our conference tournament games to ‘get ahead’ of recruiting one of my kids.”

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He did not identify the program involved, though it has since been reported the assistant works for Auburn.

Across college athletics, tampering in the NIL-and-rev-share era has become a daily discussion, with coaches across sports frustrated at backdoor recruiting that begins long before it’s allowed, or at least encouraged.

Leonard’s public statements have made Queen one of a growing number of faces of that discussion, and he did not shy away from the question Thursday.

“Is it permissible?” Leonard said Thursday. “Maybe. Maybe not. Is it ethical? In my opinion, no.”

Across answers to a pair of questions on the issue, Leonard drew a distinction between whether the move was legally allowable or morally right.

“Whether something is within the rules or not, coaches, no matter whether it’s men’s or women’s, we are trying to lead and mold young people,” Leonard said. “Basketball can be an unbelievable vehicle to change kids’ lives. As a leader of young men, I have an ethical thing that I have to do, to teach them to do the right thing.

“I don’t think it’s the right thing, ethically, to go to our conference tournament, sit on the floor and try to interact with my player in an elimination game.”

The incident has since triggered a wider debate within college basketball — and college sports — about where the legal and ethical guard rails should be placed in an era of roster churn and player movement.

Leonard said Thursday he believes that question can and should be handled at the coaches’ level.

“I’m not going to worry about NCAA legislation,” he said. “They have bigger things to worry about. I will handle this with the NABC and our coaches, and we will discuss it as men, together in a room.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: Queens coach stands firm on tampering stance ahead of NCAA Tournament