The potential Red Raiders quarterback explicitly broke one of college sports' cardinal sins. Texas Tech University is coming to his defense even though the school once supported the NCAA's gambling policies.
LUBBOCK, Texas - Judge Ken Curry is expected to announce a ruling in the Brendan Sorsby vs. NCAA case in Lubbock District Court this week, where the Texas Tech quarterback is seeking an injunction that would allow him to play for the Red Raiders despite his admission of gambling on college football when he played at Indiana and Cincinnati.
Head coach Joey McGuire has been vocal in backing his high-profile transfer recruit as the Tech athletic department initiated Sorsby's reinstatement process. Texas Tech University president Lawrence Schovanec also released a statement proclaiming the school's support of Sorsby.
However, the school's statement underscores a component of Sorsby's case that directly contradicts with prior stances Texas Tech has made regarding the NCAA's policies against gambling.
Six months ago, Texas Tech was among the schools that voted in removing the NCAA's gambling policies related to allowing student-athletes to bet on professional sports. However, this would keep the NCAA's policies about betting on collegiate sports in place, a black-and-white law that prohibits the act entirely and often warrants no other punishment but a permanent ban.
According to SI, Texas Tech "was among the schools that voted to rescind new, more permissive gambling legislation that would have allowed athletes to wager on professional sports."
Sorsby, of course, admitted to gambling on various football and basketball games at each school he was enrolled at, including while he was a part of the football program. His gambling reportedly bled into professional markets, as well.
Schovanec's statement appears to be speaking about Sorsby's position in a way that would encourage the NCAA to now back track on those procedures the school previously supported.
While Sorsby's camp is building the narrative of how he never bet against his team, or that he didn't sacrifice the integrity of the sport because he made sure not to bet on games he participated in, the biggest factor Sorsby and Texas Tech are arguing is his diagnosed gambling and anxiety disorder, which he has completed treatment for and falls under a student mental health concern that the NCAA vows to support.
This factor is emphasized in Schovanec's statement in his announcement that Texas Tech would be appealing Sorsby's ineligibility.
"The NCAA’s stated mission includes 'fostering [student-athletes'] lifelong well-being', and they have claimed their goal is to promote a 'culture of care' for student athletes’ mental health. Gambling addiction is a clinically recognized behavioral disorder, as defined in the DSM-5," Schovanec said, underlining the "legalization and rapid proliferation" of sports betting among college-aged males.
"The NCAA’s own Chief Medical Officer has called for a 'harm reduction approach' in dealing with problem gambling so that student-athletes can 'seek support without fear of impacting their eligibility.' The NCAA’s own policies and procedures for reinstatement call for 'reaching an outcome that considers the well-being of the involved student-athlete.' We are asking that the NCAA follow their own stated principles in this case. Ignoring these facts in this ruling puts the letter of their rules ahead of the spirit of their mission."
Sorsby's gambling disorder and mental health are rightfully a critical point in this case, but during the initial June 1 hearing, the NCAA's counsel made it clear that those factors remained a consideration, according to their policies.
The ones Texas Tech voted to keep in place.
