5BTC or 111% + 111 Free Spins!
New players only. Exclusive 111% Welcome Bonus + 111 Free Spins
Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby is trying to regain college eligibility after the NCAA permanently banned him for gambling rule violations. A hearing on his injunction request is scheduled Monday in Lubbock County District Court.
Good to Know
Sorsby does not deny betting. Instead, his legal team argues that the NCAA should treat the case through a mental health lens after diagnoses for gambling disorder and anxiety disorder. Sorsby is currently in treatment for this.
Court documents obtained by ESPN say Sorsby used names of friends and family members to bet at several sportsbooks during his college career. The filings say the bets totaled at least $90,000.
The documents also say Sorsby placed at least 40 bets on Indiana while he redshirted for the Hoosiers. However, his lawyers deny that he bet on games he played in for Indiana.
Sorsby said in a statement:
“Once I became part of the active roster with an opportunity to play, I immediately stopped betting on Indiana. However, my gambling on other sports did not stop; it escalated and became compulsive.
“What started small when I was in high school turned into a daily habit of betting on all kinds of sports, including some sports that I didn’t follow and had no interest in like tennis and Romanian soccer. Gambling became an addiction.”
The NCAA filed a motion Friday asking the court to reject the injunction. The association argued that restoring Sorsby eligibility could have “destabilizing ramifications.”
Sorsby legal team sees the case differently. Attorney Scott Tompsett wrote that the NCAA should focus on the conduct involved and the medical condition behind it.
“Brendan asks only for the NCAA to abide by its commitment to evaluate his reinstatement appeal based on his actual conduct and the mental health condition that spurred it,” Sorsby‘s attorney Scott Tompsett wrote.
The case arrives while college sports faces more betting-related cases tied to athletes, teams, and integrity rules. The NCAA has urged state regulators to limit some college sports betting markets, especially wagers tied to individual college athletes.
A new judge will hear the matter Monday after Judge Philip Hayes recused himself. Hayes earned undergraduate and law degrees from Texas Tech.