A Texas judge granted Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby a temporary injunction that clears the way for him to play this fall despite being for wagering on college sports, including bets made on his own team while he was at Indiana.
The decision sent shock waves across college sports since bans for gambling are a bedrock rule of the NCAA and in many professional sports.
The NCAA said it strongly disagrees with the ruling and about the damaging, far-reaching and broadly destabilizing ramifications of this outcome 鈥� which undermines and corrupts the integrity of sports.鈥� There was no immediate word on an appeal, though one is expected.
Sorsby, whose that he is addressing through treatment, will miss the Red Raiders鈥� first two games next season under a judge-approved penalty that had been proposed by his attorneys. The NCAA, which usually handles such punishments, was not involved.
The ruling by Judge Ken Curry prevents the NCAA from being able to block his eligibility for what will be his final college season with a team among the favorites to win the Big 12 Conference and return to the College Football Playoff for a second consecutive season.
Texas Tech鈥檚 season opener is Sept. 5 at home against Abilene Christian.
The judge’s ruling
Curry held a two-hour hearing last week in the 99th District Court in Lubbock County, where Texas Tech is located. In his decision, he wrote that he agreed Sorsby would suffer 鈥渁 probable, imminent and irreparable injury鈥� if he cannot practice or play for the Red Raiders.
The injunction comes with conditions that Sorsby must continue counseling for his gambling and to participate in peer support through Gamblers Anonymous or a similar group. He also must continue treatment to address 鈥渢he underlying anxiety that served as the primary driver of (his) gambling behavior.鈥�
Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt said a comprehensive support structure, including clinical care, monitoring and compliance checks, will remain fully in place for Sorsby during his time at the school.
鈥淎s we have said before, we do not believe that the circumstances of Brendan鈥檚 case warranted permanent ineligibility,鈥� Hocutt said. 鈥淎s he returns to our football program, we remain committed to supporting Brendan鈥檚 recovery and ensuring his compliance with the court鈥檚 order.鈥�
Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor told Yahoo Sports he was disappointed by the ruling.
鈥淚t is absolutely devastating for him to be able to play when every other sport, no matter the level, deems an athlete ineligible or they are punished severely for betting on their team,鈥� he told the outlet.
鈥淚 think there needs to be serious conversations about not playing Texas Tech in any sports,鈥� Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks, a member of the NCAA Football Oversight Committee, told Yahoo Sports. 鈥淚f a state court wants to dictate eligibility rules, they can play themselves. … We鈥檝e officially reached the point of no return.鈥�
A significant setback against the NCAA
NCAA attorney Taylor Askew had said during the hearing that allowing Sorsby to play another college season would provide 鈥渞eputable harm鈥� to the governing body.
鈥淪aying the NCAA is now the first league in America that allows you, without punishment, to bet on its own contests, that鈥檚 a reputable harm to the NCAA,鈥� Askew told the court. 鈥淭his would be the first league in America that does that. … We should not say for the first time serial gambling is OK.鈥�
Court records show that Sorsby has acknowledged making thousands of impermissible during his time at Indiana, Cincinnati and Texas Tech. That included 40 bets on Indiana while he was a freshman there in 2022, though none on any of the games he played in with the Hoosiers.
While some guidelines for penalties related to gambling have changed in recent years, NCAA rules still call for a permanent loss of eligibility for any player who wagered on his own team.
Sorsby spent two seasons at Indiana before the past two at Cincinnati.
The Texas native transferred in January to Texas Tech for a . The Red Raiders brought him in to be the starting quarterback when trying to defend their first Big 12 title and return to the CFP.
What led to the NCAA investigation
According to court filings, on March 11 the NCAA received a tip about Sorsby鈥檚 gambling activity from an online gambling book, which had been informed by law enforcement. Texas Tech was notified April 14 that was underway by the NCAA.
Jeffrey Kessler, the attorney who negotiated the $2.8 billion and now represents Sorsby, told the court that the 22-year-old quarterback has a diagnosed addiction and anxiety-driven compulsion. Sorsby recently completed a month-long stay in a residential treatment program in Arizona that he entered after the start of the NCAA鈥檚 investigation.
According to a clinician who treated Sorsby, Kessler said, not allowing the quarterback to play would hurt his mental health and hamper his recovery.
The NCAA in its statement Monday said it is 鈥渃ommitted to supporting student-athlete mental health but must continue to aggressively defend against actions that defraud college athletics and threaten competitive integrity, such as betting on one鈥檚 own sport.鈥�
The lawsuit and NCAA appeals
The injunction came in Sorsby鈥檚 lawsuit filed May 18 against the NCAA seeking the restoration of his eligibility. That case was initially assigned to District Judge Phillip Hays, a Lubbock native and Texas Tech graduate who later recused himself. Curry is a retired judge from Tarrant County.
Since the filing of that lawsuit, the NCAA to restore the quarterback鈥檚 eligibility.
When the school on May 26 revealed the first denial and its intent to appeal, university president Lawrence Schovanec wrote in a that the school felt 鈥渢he NCAA鈥檚 ruling should be reversed or modified.鈥�
That comment illustrates the difficult landscape for the NCAA, which has lost multiple court cases challenging rules that were put in place by the very schools that make up its membership. Many focus on eligibility, with athletes contending they should be allowed to play and continue to earn money that was made available under the House ruling.
The NCAA is on the verge of approving a following meetings among stakeholders and The NCAA continues to also seek limited in hopes of eliminating or at least smoothing the state-by-state rulings that have thrown the industry into chaos.
鈥淭here is no better example of why targeted intervention from Congress is necessary,鈥� NCAA President Charlie Baker said on social media after Monday鈥檚 decision. 鈥淲hen you have schools and deep-pocketed supporters willing to look the other way on the glaring integrity threat of betting on your own team — and judges whose rulings effectively strip away our ability to stop them — only Congress can equip the NCAA to apply this common sense rule to everyone fairly and consistently. The Protect College Sports Act would empower the NCAA to enforce rules including the gambling restrictions – it鈥檚 needed now more than ever.鈥�
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