Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby filed an injunction against the NCAA on Monday, aiming to preserve his eligibility for the upcoming college football season, ESPN reports.
Sorsby recently sought treatment for a gambling addiction, related to reports that he placed thousands of wagers while he was an NCAA student-athlete.
Key Takeaways
- Sorsby accused the NCAA of violating its own policies in delaying a decision on his case.
- The injunction claimed that Sorsby was “currently ineligible” to play for his team, despite not having been formally punished.
- Sorsby offered to serve a two-game suspension.
Sorsby submitted his injunction in district court in Lubbock County, Texas, claiming the NCAA has a “deeply hypocritical” stance on gambling.
Sorsby has not been handed a punishment for his actions, which included reportedly placing at least one moneyline wager on the Indiana Hoosiers’ football team while he was a backup quarterback in Bloomington.
However, the NCAA has strict prohibitions against sports betting for student-athletes, with punishments ranging from education to a permanent loss of eligibility, depending on the amount of money that was wagered and the magnitude of the offense(s).
“The Association's sports betting rules are clear, as are the reinstatement conditions,” the NCAA said in a statement to ESPN. “When it comes to betting on one's own team, these rules must be enforced in every case for the simple reason that the integrity of the game is at risk.”
The Red Raiders QB stated in his lawsuit that he was “currently ineligible” to play for his team due to violations of the NCAA’s gambling bylaws. That’s despite being “clinically diagnosed” with a “mental health condition.”
“The NCAA has weaponized his condition to shore up a facade of competitive integrity, while simultaneously profiting from the very gambling ecosystem it polices,” the injunction asserts, while ultimately asking for the courts to prevent the NCAA from implementing a loss of eligibility for Sorsby.
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NCAA slow to act?
One key element of the injunction is its timing. If an injunction is granted, Sorsby would be allowed to return for a fifth and final collegiate season, his first at Texas Tech.
Sorsby already said in an affidavit that not being able to practice with his team would negatively impact his mental health by taking away developmental opportunities that “cannot be replaced or replicated.”
Sorsby and his team claimed that the quarterback told the NCAA he would serve a two-game suspension – which would count as nearly 17% of a 12-game season – and that he would work with the NCAA to educate others on the pitfalls of gambling.
However, that offer was rejected, leading the QB to claim that the NCAA ignored its own policies by not coming to a timely decision.
“Throughout the process, the NCAA has arbitrarily stalled at every turn, despite the fact that it knows that the clock is ticking for Mr. Sorsby,” the filing reads. “Sorsby's legal team deems this unnecessary because he has admitted wrongdoing and there's no evidence that he bet against his own team or shared insider information.”
Sorsby could go to the NFL
With no timeline available for a decision on Sorsby’s case, the Texas Tech quarterback requested a hearing for June 15, one week before the June 22 deadline for the NFL’s supplemental draft. This is an alternate league draft that is usually held in July for players who lose their collegiate eligibility after the deadline for the regular NFL Draft.
Teams don’t make picks in the same record-based order. Instead, they make blind bids with draft picks they would be willing to forego in the upcoming season, and the team willing to fork over the most capital wins the rights to the player.
Sorsby was the top player in the last transfer portal. He left Cincinnati for Texas Tech, a team that won the Big 12 a year ago before falling to Oregon in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
