Appeal planned after NCAA bans Texas Tech football QB Brendan Sorsby
Texas Tech football quarterback Brendan Sorsby will return to campus this week with the university's support and a coordinated plan to deal with his acknowledged gambling addiction, Tech President Lawrence Schovanec wrote in an open letter released on Tuesday, May 26.
His college football career remains in limbo.
Schovanec said the NCAA has issued an initial ruling that Sorsby is permanently ineligible to compete based on gambling violations of NCAA rules. Schovanec said Tech will appeal. Sorsby's sanction is based in part on his having placed bets on his own team during the 2022 season at Indiana, during which time he played in one game while redshirting.
Sorsby's legal team is seeking an injunction that would allow him to play in the 2026 season. A visiting Tarrant County judge will hear arguments during an injunction hearing on Monday, June 1, in Lubbock's 99th District Court.
In his letter to the community, Schovanec wrote that Sorsby completed an inpatient treatment program last week for a diagnosed gambling addiction and anxiety disorder. He called it "a meaningful step forward in what will be a long recovery."
"To provide the continued treatment, monitoring and support we believe Brendan needs," Schovanec said, "leaders in our athletics department have worked with Brendan’s treatment team to put forward a plan that we believe is right for Brendan, for our institution, and for the integrity of college athletics. That plan is comprehensive, thoughtful, and built to sustain his long-term recovery at Texas Tech and beyond.
"As Brendan returns to campus and navigates his recovery, the following structure will be in place: ongoing outpatient clinical care; participation in group and individual therapy; mentor resources; treatment for his related anxiety disorder; active monitoring of his technological devices; installation of software to block betting sites from his devices; the appointment of a custodian to oversee his personal finances; and periodic compliance checks.
"This is not a symbolic commitment. Each element reflects our conviction, and Brendan’s, that nothing matters more right now than his continued recovery. It is our duty to provide that support and that is support we are uniquely well-positioned to provide."
ESPN reported that Sorsby's monthlong inpatient treatment program took place in Goodyear, Arizona.
The Center for Students in Addiction Recovery was established in 1986 on the Texas Tech campus. Schovanec said the "CSAR stands ready to support Brendan as he returns to campus."
Schovanec also said Tech will appeal his permanent ban.
"We believe that given the facts and the context of Brendan’s case, the NCAA’s ruling should be reversed or modified," Schovanec said. "As a generation of college athletes face the legalization and rapid proliferation of sports betting in our country, gambling addiction is rising to the point of epidemic among college aged men in particular. 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.
"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 was a high school athlete at Corinth Lake Dallas before spending the 2022 and 2023 seasons at Indiana and the 2024 and 2025 seasons at Cincinnati, throwing for 2,800 yards in both seasons, combining for 45 touchdown passes. He transferred to Texas Tech in January and threw four touchdown passes in the Red Raiders' spring game.
In its filing for the injunction, the plaintiff's attorneys wrote that after his betting on Indiana in 2022, Sorsby never again wagered on any of his other teams, including Cincinnati, in games his teams participated in or players in those games.
His attorneys said, however, said Sorsby continued to place thousands of bets on other sports "as his gambling escalated into a compulsion he could not control."
In addition to having prohibitions against an athlete wagering on his or her sport, the NCAA has punishments for betting on any sports in which it sponsors a championship.
In the filing, the attorneys said the NCAA rejected Sorsby's offer to accept a two-game suspension, continue addiction treatment while at Tech, take any gambling-education classes the NCAA requested and work with the NCAA to educate other athletes and fans about the dangers of gambling.
If Sorsby's legal team fails to achieve injunctive relief, the Red Raiders would turn in the short term to Tulsa transfer Kirk Francis, who also joined the team in January. Tech coach Joey McGuire has also said he hopes to have Will Hammond back from 2025 season-ending knee surgery in time for the third game this coming season, the Big 12 opener on Sept. 18 against Houston.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Appeal planned after NCAA bans Texas Tech football QB Brendan Sorsby
What's Your Reaction?
like
0
dislike
0
love
0
funny
0
angry
0
sad
0
wow
0
