Heads were turned when Texas Tech Raiders quarterback Brendan Sorsby announced that he was seeking treatment for gambling addiction, and it was revealed that he placed bets on the Indiana Hoosiers while he was still a rostered member of the team.
After appealing to be reinstated so that he could compete in the 2026-27 season, the NCAA initially denied the request; however, on Monday, it was reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel that due to a district court in Lubbock County, Texas, granting the injunction requested, Sorsby is now eligible to play after serving a two-game suspension.
The NCAA lamented the decision in its official statement.
“The NCAA strongly disagrees with the court’s ruling in Sorsby’s case and is deeply concerned about the damaging, far-reaching and broadly destabilizing ramifications of this outcome — which undermines and corrupts the integrity of sports,” the NCAA’s statement read. “The NCAA is committed 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’s own sport.”
One ESPN contributor, Josh Pate, posted on X that this ruling was “the final death rattle of the NCAA” and explained his reasoning.
“The NCAA, that’s 4 letters. That’s nothing more. That’s not an enforcement body. That’s not a governing body. It used to be. And truthfully, I don’t ever know that it had the teeth we thought it did. It was just— it barked really loud for a long time,” Pate said.
“And so schools were scared and got in line, and they were complicit. And how foolish do you feel today, by the way, if at any point in your recent history as a player or a coach or an institution, you self-reported violations or you admitted to violations or you just accepted NCAA sanctions? How foolish must you feel?”
It’s a stunning ruling that could see the entire way gambling is approached by student-athletes moving forward, and if the NCAA is unable to bar Sorsby from competing, Pate may just be right.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.