Texas Tech football signed quarterback Brendan Sorsby in the transfer portal before his gambling problem became public knowledge and escalated into a full-blown scandal, but the program and university could still face consequences for proceeding forward with the former Cincinnati Bearcats star. The Red Raiders’ decision to fight for Sorsby’s eligibility, which was granted via an injunction against the NCAA, has enraged an entire conference.
Realizing that the Big 12 could lay down the hammer, Texas attorney general Ken Paxton sent a letter to commissioner Brett Yormark warning that Texas Tech will take legal action if league members opt to sanction the school for permitting Sorsby to play next season. Oklahoma AG Gentner Drummond did not take kindly to the Lone Star State’s sentiment and urged action against the Red Raiders in a rebuttal letter to Yormark and Douglas Girod, the chairman of the board of directors.
“The idea that the Big 12 may not sanction the actions of one of its members under an agreed-upon preexisting contract is facially absurd,” he writes, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Drummond cited several Supreme Court examples to support his point, arguing that a conference has the right to enforce its bylaws in the interest of promoting integrity. He spoke on the behalf of longstanding Big 12 member Oklahoma State and advocated for both Texas Tech and Brendan Sorsby to be punished for their role in this saga.
“I write further to recommend that the Big 12 take action against Texas Tech under Bylaw 3.6, which allows the Conference to sanction member schools if a ‘Supermajority of Disinterested Directors determines’ that a member school has ‘engaged in any action or a course of conduct materially adverse to the best interests of the Conference as a whole.’ Sadly, that fits Texas Tech to a T.
“If Texas Tech will not do the right thing, the Big 12 should. Texas Tech should be sanctioned. I also note that the injunction granted to Sorsby applies only to the NCAA. It does not impede the Big 12 from suspending Sorsby.”
Will Brendan Sorsby, Texas Tech face serious consequences?
The last sentence of the letter might as well be a declaration of war. “My office stands ready to assist the Big 12 if Texas Tech’s leadership attempts to punish the Conference for doing the right thing,” Gentner Drummond asserts.
Texas Tech football could be locked in a tense standoff with the Big 12, one that could take focus off the gridiron and divert it into the courthouse. Sorsby wagered approximately $90,000 on sports across a four-year period, including on Indiana when he was a player there. He is currently slated to serve a two-game suspension next season before assuming the starting QB role for Joey McGuire’s Red Raiders.
Whether or not a boycott or sanctions take effect, intense animosity has already sprouted from this situation. And it should only grow moving forward.
Texas Tech football signed quarterback Brendan Sorsby in the transfer portal before his gambling problem became public knowledge and escalated into a full-blown scandal, but the program and university could still face consequences for proceeding forward with the former Cincinnati Bearcats star.
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