Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby’s college football is coming to an end.
On Monday night, the Red Raiders football coaching staff informed members of the program that Sorsby will not be returning to the team this season, Texas Tech board chairman Cody Campbell confirmed in a statement. Sorsby, who was granted an injunction to play despite gambling transgressions (for which he entered inpatient treatment in May), will instead apply to the NFL Supplemental Draft, with a deadline of June 22.
“This decision was made with Brendan and his family and is purely an output of practical analysis of the situation,” Campbell wrote. “Brendan and Texas Tech stand on very solid and legitimate legal ground, but he faces a June 22nd deadline … and there is no practical way to resolve all the various pending legal disputes and ensure his eligibility prior to this date. This is the only viable and fair path for Brendan and his future, as well as for his teammates, and our university.” Campbell added that Texas Tech will not require Sorsby to return any of the name, image, and likeness money he has already received from the program.
Sorsby addressed his situation in an Instagram post on Monday night.
“I am grateful for the support from my family, my Tech coaching staff, teammates, the community, and so many others who have encouraged me to address and learn more about this important issue,” he wrote. “As my journey continues, I remain fully committed to and focused on being the best I can be, both on and off the field.”
To be eligible for the NFL Supplemental Draft, Sorsby cannot be eligible to play college sports; he is expected to drop his lawsuit against the NCAA as a result. Sorsby’s attorney, Jeff Kessler, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The NFL declined to comment when reached by Front Office Sports.
In a letter to the Texas Tech community, university president Lawrence Schovanec wrote: “When Brendan’s lawsuit resulted in the granting of a temporary injunction, we found ourselves in a difficult situation. With his health and wellness as our top priority we supported him in spite of very different perspectives and opinions. Our position was challenged by many but our support for him never changed. We will continue to extend all available resources that Brendan had as a student and athlete to ensure his transition is as successful as possible.”
In May, Sorsby—who transferred from Cincinnati this past offseason—announced he would seek inpatient treatment for a gambling addiction after the NCAA informed the Red Raiders of thousands of bets he had placed during his college football career. He not only broke NCAA rules but also, by betting on his own team while at Indiana, faced the loss of his final year of eligibility, which the NCAA refused to overturn.
Sorsby then filed a lawsuit in Texas state court to force the NCAA to grant him eligibility, which he won last week. Since then, Texas Tech has become embroiled in a PR firestorm. The program did not expressly say it would play him; instead, it said his status would be determined by his addiction recovery. He was, however, welcomed back to the team, and the Red Raiders implied they would allow him to play if he was mentally and physically healthy.
After Sorsby’s injunction was granted, multiple schools outside the Big 12 decided to boycott Texas Tech in all sports for allowing a player who bet on his own team to play. Big 12 schools expressed outrage in conference meetings as well, and asked the conference to sanction the school for playing Sorsby. However, the school said it would pursue legal action of its own, and Texas state Attorney General Ken Paxton backed the Red Raiders in a letter to the conference.
Then, on Monday morning, the Big 12 filed its own lawsuit against Texas Tech and Paxton seeking a judgment that it is allowed to sanction the school as per the league’s bylaws. Several other state attorneys general cheered the conference on after it filed the suit.
The Big 12 did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the fate of the lawsuit filed on Monday.
But now, Sorsby appears to have made the decision to leave Texas Tech despite the court order that would have allowed him to stay. The next question: whether he’ll be deemed eligible for the Draft—and whether an NFL team will draft him given his gambling history?
