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Texas Tech continues to double down amid controversy.
The school has found itself in the spotlight of the college football world over the last week after quarterback Brendan Sorsby received an injunction allowing him to play in 2026 despite his admission to placing more than $90,000 in sports bets over four years, including bets on his own team during his time at Indiana in 2022.
The school has defended Sorsby and his right to play, arguing that suspending him would be tantamount to punishing a player for a mental health issue. Texas Tech has also argued that involvement in the program is the best way for Sorsby to move forward in his recovery from gambling addiction.
School administrators echoed those arguments in a 22-minute video posted to social media on Thursday night in which they detailed Sorsby's battle with gambling addiction and explained why they believed being able to play for the Red Raiders was the best course of action for him.
"There's no reason whatsoever to question the integrity of our athletics department, or the competitive product that we put on the fields or on the courts each and every time that we go out," athletics director Kirby Hocutt said. "Integrity of the game is sacred, and that's why we've gone to such great lengths to ensure the monitoring and the compliance measures are in place for Brendan's return.
"(Sorsby has) made mistakes and he looked me in my eye this morning, again, and reassured me that he has done nothing to jeopardize the integrity of a game that he's competed in. He has not given information about a game that he's competed in, he has not jeopardized the competition or affected the outcome of any game he's competed in."
University president Lawrence Schovanec acknowledged that Sorsby made a mistake but said preventing him from playing football this fall would be "unfair and unjust."
"Mistakes have consequences," Schovanec said. "At the same time, here's a young man with a dream and a vision to pursue a career. We felt not to have the opportunity to pursue that career, given the circumstances and the evolving changes in this world that these athletes face, was unfair and unjust."
Frankly, it's a baffling public relations course to take.
The Sorsby ruling has proven massively controversial and is opposed by practically everyone outside of Lubbock, Texas. Even the Big 12 has been mulling consequences for Texas Tech with seemingly unanimous approval (outside of TTU, obviously), prompting threats of legal action against the league from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Those decrying the ruling may be doing so in vain. Though the NCAA intends to appeal the decision (and likely has a solid chance of winning on appeal), timing could render an appeal pointless if it can't come before the end of the 2026 season.
Texas Tech has probably won. It seems more likely than not that Sorsby will be playing this fall — an unprecedented situation in American sports when it comes to athletes who have been caught betting on their own games. While gambling addiction is a very real mental health issue, it's worth noting that his recovery process did not begin until his gambling activity was already uncovered. That gambling addiction is a mental health issue does not absolve Sorsby of the consequences of his actions.
But again, none of that may end up mattering. Again, it seems Texas Tech won.
That's what makes this shameless PR blitz particularly obnoxious. The Red Raiders went to a friendly courtroom and received a friendly ruling — they aren't the first program to do so, and they won't be the last. Everyone knows the score.
You don't have to keep talking about this. You don't have to keep defending it. Just enjoy the win and move on.
To instead hide behind the language of mental health while continuing to defend a decision that they clearly supported on football grounds not only makes a mockery of the seriousness of mental health issues, it insults the intelligence of everyone listening.
It's stunning enough that Texas Tech has no concerns about the Pandora's Box it may have just opened. It's even more unbelievable that it thinks this line of argumentation will convince anyone who didn't already bleed scarlet and black.
Contact/Follow @College_Wire on X and @College_Wires on Threads. Like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of college sports news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Texas Tech football's Brendan Sorsby PR strategy is baffling
Continue reading...
The school has found itself in the spotlight of the college football world over the last week after quarterback Brendan Sorsby received an injunction allowing him to play in 2026 despite his admission to placing more than $90,000 in sports bets over four years, including bets on his own team during his time at Indiana in 2022.
The school has defended Sorsby and his right to play, arguing that suspending him would be tantamount to punishing a player for a mental health issue. Texas Tech has also argued that involvement in the program is the best way for Sorsby to move forward in his recovery from gambling addiction.
School administrators echoed those arguments in a 22-minute video posted to social media on Thursday night in which they detailed Sorsby's battle with gambling addiction and explained why they believed being able to play for the Red Raiders was the best course of action for him.
"There's no reason whatsoever to question the integrity of our athletics department, or the competitive product that we put on the fields or on the courts each and every time that we go out," athletics director Kirby Hocutt said. "Integrity of the game is sacred, and that's why we've gone to such great lengths to ensure the monitoring and the compliance measures are in place for Brendan's return.
"(Sorsby has) made mistakes and he looked me in my eye this morning, again, and reassured me that he has done nothing to jeopardize the integrity of a game that he's competed in. He has not given information about a game that he's competed in, he has not jeopardized the competition or affected the outcome of any game he's competed in."
University president Lawrence Schovanec acknowledged that Sorsby made a mistake but said preventing him from playing football this fall would be "unfair and unjust."
"Mistakes have consequences," Schovanec said. "At the same time, here's a young man with a dream and a vision to pursue a career. We felt not to have the opportunity to pursue that career, given the circumstances and the evolving changes in this world that these athletes face, was unfair and unjust."
Frankly, it's a baffling public relations course to take.
The Sorsby ruling has proven massively controversial and is opposed by practically everyone outside of Lubbock, Texas. Even the Big 12 has been mulling consequences for Texas Tech with seemingly unanimous approval (outside of TTU, obviously), prompting threats of legal action against the league from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Those decrying the ruling may be doing so in vain. Though the NCAA intends to appeal the decision (and likely has a solid chance of winning on appeal), timing could render an appeal pointless if it can't come before the end of the 2026 season.
Texas Tech has probably won. It seems more likely than not that Sorsby will be playing this fall — an unprecedented situation in American sports when it comes to athletes who have been caught betting on their own games. While gambling addiction is a very real mental health issue, it's worth noting that his recovery process did not begin until his gambling activity was already uncovered. That gambling addiction is a mental health issue does not absolve Sorsby of the consequences of his actions.
But again, none of that may end up mattering. Again, it seems Texas Tech won.
That's what makes this shameless PR blitz particularly obnoxious. The Red Raiders went to a friendly courtroom and received a friendly ruling — they aren't the first program to do so, and they won't be the last. Everyone knows the score.
You don't have to keep talking about this. You don't have to keep defending it. Just enjoy the win and move on.
To instead hide behind the language of mental health while continuing to defend a decision that they clearly supported on football grounds not only makes a mockery of the seriousness of mental health issues, it insults the intelligence of everyone listening.
It's stunning enough that Texas Tech has no concerns about the Pandora's Box it may have just opened. It's even more unbelievable that it thinks this line of argumentation will convince anyone who didn't already bleed scarlet and black.
Contact/Follow @College_Wire on X and @College_Wires on Threads. Like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of college sports news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Texas Tech football's Brendan Sorsby PR strategy is baffling
Continue reading...
