Big 12 Faces Growing Pressure to Suspend Sorsby Amid AG Dispute

The Big 12 isn’t having this Brendan Sorsby situation with Texas Tech Red Raiders go quietly in the night, to say the least. After Sorsby obtained a preliminary injunction that supersedes the NCAA ruling him permanently ineligible, it’s safe to say that hasn’t gone down well with the rest of the conference. And as the Big 12 mulls over taking action, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has entered the fight urging them to suspend the quarterback and sanction the Red Raiders in a letter to commissioner Brett Yormark.

Drummond’s argument is simple: the Big 12 isn’t bound by the preliminary injunction as it wasn’t a party to the proceedings in Lubbock County. While there have been warnings if conference members try to invoke Bylaw 3.6, Drummond cited it and urged the conference itself to invoke it, which would allow for sanctions in the event that a supermajority finds a member to have acted against conference interests.

The letter comes days after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton went to warn Yormark on Thursday that sanctions would open up the Big 12 to antitrust liability, breach of contract, and tortious interference claims. Drummond completely disagrees, arguing that as a private association with its own avenue of enforcement, none of this should hold weight.

It’s simply a mess, but Texas Tech is going down with their quarterback. To read more about their unwavering support amid the controversy, here is the full story from Red Raiders Roundtable writer Timothy Hamm.

With the NCAA appeal trial not scheduled until February, at present, all Sorsby must serve is a two-game suspension while he can practice due to the temporary injunction granted by Lubbock judge Ken Curry. At present, 15 of 16 member schools in the Big 12 oppose Sorsby taking the field this season. Nothing seems to have made much progress at all as these grievances – fairly so – continue to air out.