As expected, following the NCAA’s denial of Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby‘s reinstatement for the 2026 college football season, Sorsby’s team has filed an appeal. The team’s argument (via Ross Dellenger fo Yahoo Sports) leaned heavily on the framing of Sorbsy’s gambling problem as an issue of mental health and asked that, in lieu of the revocation of his remaining eligibility, the NCAA consider a two-game suspension.
In it’s denial, the NCAA stated that it “did not find any circumstances that warranted reinstating (Sorsby’s) eligibility.” By citing the specifics of Sorsby’s diagnosis and transgressions, the appeal attempts to paint the situation as one without precedent. In doing so, the team argues that the NCAA wouldn’t be following the precedent set by past players who have gambled and been caught; instead, it would be setting a new precedent for punishing a player who admitted to and sought treatment for his mental health disorder.
The team’s appeal obviously argues that Sorsby struggles from a gambling addiction, the mental health challenge that perpetuated his continuous activity, but the first instances of betting could not have been a result of a developed addiction, so they’ve framed that, too, within the scope of mental health.
As a report today from ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and David Purdum detailed at least 2,900 bets at Indiana, alone, totaling more than $30K in wagers, including at least 40 bets on the Indiana football team and its players, Sorsby’s physician asserted that the quarterback’s first bets were the result of “an adjustment disorder with anxiety that caused him to place those bets to feel part of the team.”
That assertion seems to be coming from pretty far out of left field, but if they can successfully establish the ordeal as a result of Sorsby’s struggles with mental health, it will be difficult for the NCAA to continue denying his reinstatement. The team’s appeal cites the NCAA’s own mission statement, grabbing snippets such as “fostering (student-athletes’) lifelong well-being” and promoting “a culture of care.”
The appeal attempts to shift the focus of the punishment away from Sorsby’s transgressions and towards his ultimate decision to seek treatment. The appeal states that “imposing a career-ending sanction on Sorsby will send the message to current and future athletes hiding in the shadows of the stigma of mental health challenges and addiction that they need to stay silent and never seek help or treatment because the NCAA will take a punitive approach by automatically applying the maximum sanction.” By instead imposing only a two-game suspension, the appeal argues that the NCAA would “be sending an important signal to current and future student-athletes that seeking treatment for an addiction does not have to mean ruining your future.”
The release of the appeal and the documents detailing just how far Sorsby’s gambling went on the same day set up a battle of perception. The 40 bets he placed on his own team only totaled around $850, ranging from $1 to $114, but that represents only a microcosm of his habits. Utilizing “accounts registered in his name, a family member’s name, and friends’ names, Sorsby placed at least $90K in impermissible wagers” through four separate betting sites. He reportedly had to transfer up to $60K to friends in order “to cover bets made on his behalf.”
If Sorsby’s team is successful in convincing the NCAA to view the entirety of Sorsby’s gambling history as actions stemming from struggles with mental health, he stands a strong chance of getting to play out his tenure with the Red Raiders. To this point, though, the NCAA has been adamant that it will not negotiate a settlement to reinstate Sorsby. It will be interesting to see if the team’s mental health appeals successfully scare the NCAA away from its current conviction. Will it see a maximum sanction as disincentivizing future student-athletes from gambling or disincentivizing future student-athletes “from seeking the help they desperately need?”
Disgusting
He is trying every excuse and seeing which one sticks. Next headline will be about him being in debt to The Yakuza.
Not sure he wants to go that route, but we’re talking about a high amount of NIL money for him, and wins for Texas Tech (shame on them). Plus he knows that he will not make the same amount of money in pro football next year that he can make in NIL.
According to multiple studies, a person with an addiction has an 85% chance of relapsing within 1 year of completing rehab. He’s admitted placing bets on his team, and has admitted to placing over $150k in bets.
Any team, Texas Tech included, that puts him on their roster is taking a big big chance on him not only relapsing but relapsing hard. If I’m in charged there is no way I take a chance on him, no matter how talented he is.
It is a shame that as a writer you felt you were qualified to comment on the diagnosis by the physician. You really should be fired. Pathetic.
Overreact much?
I think it’s a shame that people are so damn eager to toss the consequence away… again.
“Punishment should fit the issue”
You’re telling me no NCAA program (AD, coaches, front office) or NCAA officials have bet before? Cause they have lol. 100% and guaranteed they bet on NCAA games as well
Betting is rampant at college and pro level.
People also once supported suspensions for players caught taking money on the side while the NCAA made billions off their name image and likeness. Claiming “they’re getting a free education” as some kind of justification for why they should be suspended over earning extra money
Now we have NIL rules
It’s time the NCAA updates its gambling rules if it’s gonna be making billions off their games again. “Rules for
thee no for me” isn’t a solution
“Now that it stands to possibly benefit Texas Tech, we as a university would like to make a stand on behalf of mental health awareness”
Yeah, seems pretty selfish on their part. Now, Sorsby could have put every effort towards recovery, and everyone deserves a second chance if he/she puts in the honest work and effort to make things right. But I feel like there is a certain of respect for what was done that needs to be considered. Tech isn’t doing this for Sorsby, they’re doing to win games and recoup their investment. Perhaps the best thing, assuming that Sorsby’s recovery and commitment is genuine, to do is to give it some more time to allow it to settle, and allow him to live life after treatment, and see if it is prudent to try again next year.
That’s of course interpreted in a light most generous to Sorsby and to Tech. I don’t know the man, so I very much can’t say. But this is more important to his life than football, or even an NIL deal, should be. A quick Band-Aid doesn’t seem to cover, the league’s hypocrisy in embracing the very mechanism of his destruction aside (as another separate, but admittedly very relevant, matter).
Actions have consequences. I could care less if you sought treatment or not. Doesn’t change what he did. Consequences
You mean you ‘couldn’t care less’
If you could care less about something, it means you have a level of care about it that could still drop.
It’s a sarcastic idiom, perfectly acceptable and accurate in on-line forums.
Who wrote this article, Sorsby’s attorneys? Terrible editorializing. Bush league writing.
Bros gonna win back-to-back-to-back MVPs in the CFL
I will assume that Sorsby does have a gambling addiction. Any addiction can be framed as a “mental health” issue. However, the NCAA needs to be careful about accepting this defense as a legitimate reason to issue only a minor penalty. Who knows what kind of illegal activity could be also be framed as a mental health problem that should warrant only a token penalty?
(and let’s face it” missing the first 2 games against Abilene Christian and the 2-11 Oregon State Beavers is not going to hurt TT’s nor Sorsby’s seasons).
This kid needs professional help. If the argument is anxiety causes him to gamble… people who suffer from anxiety don’t gamble to cope… this kid is fighting to make millions when he should be fighting to live a healthy life. Using anxiety as a defense is troubling and a slap in the face to those who actually do suffer from anxiety…. best thing that could happen to Sorsby is to have his football career end and him move on with life, get the help he needs to fight his addiction. Not grant him the ability to make millions so he can feed the addiction……don’t want this kid on my team. ..
Sure, I believe he was having anxiety and that’s what caused him to make very detailed and specific bets on the team he was playing on. When I’m feeling anxiety I normally have the mental capacity to sit down and do very detail oriented work while simultaneously trying to hide my identity. Look, the kid tried to circumvent the system, failed and got caught, period. He’s obviously not some criminal mastermind, but he’s not blameless either. To bad Pete Rose didn’t think of this anxiety defense. His best bet is to fess up, skip college games and declare for the supplemental draft and hope somebody is needy enough to grab him, say the Jets. He cost himself millions by being an idiot and betting on games, hopefully he learned a lesson. Probably not,once they start betting they can’t stop. I had an uncle who lost everything he had, his wife, his job, his home and still didn’t learn. If I owned a pro team I wouldn’t touch him, even if he swore he wouldn’t do it again, but that’s just me. He’s talented, but he’s no Patrick Mahomes or Joe Burrow. I would hate to be sitting on a couch in 20 years watching the NFL on TV and knowing what I cost myself by being a stupid, conniving kid.
@man. He might’ve got away with it, because he was betting when he was a red shirt. I dont really see the big deal. He couldn’t affect the outcome, but i recently saw he betted on a Cincinnati game. That’s probably enough to do him in. Especially because he was sending money to friends, so he could’ve done more. I think that’s enough to get him banned from the NCAAF, and NFL.
Even as a redshirt, he still has insider information. He could know that the starting QB partied all night the night before and came in hungover, or any other countless examples of knowledge that can affect the game. It’s like insider trading
Well said. Exactly what I was going to answer.
If this guy gets reinstated, it will set a horrible legal precedent for the NCAA. Every player will then have an out, claiming “gambling addiction” and by this precedent they would only get a suspension. This would severely impact the integrity of college sports
I think one point that Sorsby’s legal time wants to make is that the NCAA hasn’t set any framework or rules for this new in-bed-with-gambling-companies environment. That all the NCAA has on its side is “gambling bad,” but nothing new that addresses the current landscape. That’s an important point. Sorsby’s lawyer, Kessler, can point out that this is one more example where the NCAA power brokers running the show threw themselves recklessly at a new money stream without actually taking the student-athletes into consideration- which is supposed to be one of their main responsibilities. It’s no different than NIL or booster groups or any of these other things the NCAA didn’t really think through all the way, just grabbed for that bag. I think Kessler intends to use this case to set that precedent and force the NCAA’s hands to create a new set of rules and framework that addresses the new gambling landscape and treating addictions to gambling as mental health issues, which will guiden them when they address future cases of student-athletes caught gambling.
And this is something the NCAA should have done before accepting the first dollar from gambling companies. They should have had in place ways to address the welfare of their student athletes while also protecting the integrity of the game. Because otherwise there’s no way they can differentiate between the true mental health cases and those student-athletes who are just trying to use mental health as a way of getting out of the consequences of doing something they shouldn’t have done, not when there’s no legit system in place to address rehabilitation, student/athletic statuses, and punishment.
Of course, it is a mental health issue. No doubt about it. Same time, he committed the acts and has to be held accountable for his actions.
He should not regain eligibility in the NCAA, nor should he be allowed to play in the NFL for several seasons.
This shouldn’t even be a conversation. Literally broke a written rule with written consequences. Quit catering to idiots.
Also, funny how all of us with absolutely nothing to gain from this can see the extremely logical answer, yet here is money and time being wasted by the powers in place. Amazingly corrupt.
There’s something funny about a comment section full of people who’ve placed at least 1 bet in their life trying to make a few extra bucks judging a kid trying to earn as much money as he can while supporting the NCAA rules
Yeah. Players accepting money also use to be illegal. “Improper benefits” it was called and people justified players getting suspended ruled ineligible earning money while the NCAA made billions off their name image likeness cause the players “were receiving a free college education”. And those people turned out to be wrong and now we have name image likeness cause courts ruled “a free college education” was bs and not worth anywhere close to the value players bring in.
Now we have the NCAA in bed with gambling and sports betting. Literal programs covering spreads on major sports new networks. And here we are again saying “bad kid no gambling” while coaches front offices ncaa employees make their own bets on collegiate games lol. Too funny how history starts repeating itself
Anyways. Update the rules
Players can place bets not at team facilities dorm room is fine
Players can’t bet on their own teams or players can only bet on pro sports
Possibly cap per year betting to a certain amount players just provide receipts
Percentage of NIL money goes into a savings account for players that can’t be accessed until their retirement age let it accrue interest for them. Can be added to.
Sorsby bet on his own team. That has always been clearly outlined in the rules as being a bannable offense.
These are young adults, the time to coddle them has come to an end.
Bet on them to win lol it’s the Pete Rose argument “he bet on his team” yeah to win lol.
The only reason people have issue with betting on one’s own team is fear they’ll throw the game like taking a fall and it hurts the integrity of the game and such….. Thats true….if they bet on their teams to lose.
See the black Sox were intentionally throwing games in the World Series oddly enough against the Reds in exchange for mob money. Bad black Sox bad
But if the mob said win the World Series and we will give you extra cash…..yeah doubt that’s a scandal.
You don’t throw games if you bet on your teams to win. In fact you’d expect players betting to win to play harder and will their teams to win knowing if they don’t they’re out some dough.
Accepting gifts from boosters/coaches is a whole different ballgame than betting on your own team’s games. Not a good counter-argument
What’s the difference between accepting illegal benefits to attend certain schools and play well based on rules and winning money cause you bet on your team to win which is against the rules. Do explain
Fun fact: it’s actually quite comparable
Players were given money to choose certain schools attend certain programs. They were also given money for performance. How’s that any different than winning bets when you pick your team to win? Hint: it’s not
Reggie Bush notoriously lost the 2005 heisman cause after an NCAA investigation revealed he and his family received hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, a rent-free home, and a car from agents in exchange for his on-field performance.
An undercover FBI investigation (2017) exposed widespread “pay-to-play” under-the-table schemes across Division I basketball. Top recruits and their families were offered tens of thousands of dollars by shoe company executives and assistant coaches to attend specific universities
Pre NIL rules is ripe with examples of programs and boosters paying guys off record cause it was against NCAA rules to do so in order to bring winning to the team/program. They certainly didn’t give them money cars housing etc to throw games and lose.
Literally comparable to a player betting on his team to win for money.
The only difference is betting sites are paying the player instead of programs/boosters
Not comparable lmao not a well thought out counter comment at all
Fun Fact: Giving gifts to get them on the team is not the same as a player betting on their team.
Hint: Your argument still doesn’t make sense
You’re talking about an NIL issue, when I’m talking about the integrity of the game
Fun fact: the purpose of the gifts benefits and money is increases odds of winning games.
Whether a player is given gifts money benefits for winning or whether the player bets on himself to win a game and gets money from betting the end result is the same no matter how you try to deny that fact.
What do you think pre NIL era benefits are LOL it’s legal betting on players to win games. You’re giving them monetary value in the form of gifts benefits actual money in the hope they win your program games. Literally no different than a player placing bets on themselves to win games. The only difference is who’s paying them, boosters or draft sites.
The end result is still the same. They win they get money. They lose or don’t perform they lose the money attached.
Quite literally the same thing
QB when illegal benefits were a thing: “Oh man if I win this game boosters are gonna give me $1000! Theyre betting on us to win! If I lose I’ll lose my benefits!”
QB when sports betting era is a thing: “Oh man if I win this game the draft site is gonna pay me $1000! I’m betting on us to win! If I lose I lose my money!”
ItS nOt ThE sAmE
It’s funny you mentioned integrity of the game. You think
Pre and post NIL rules adhere to the integrity of the game? LOL yeah Oregon’s Nike CEO donor willing to spend stupid money for a nation title on NIL money definitely adheres to “iNtEgRiTy Of ThE gAmE”
Donors boosters programs paying stupid money under the table off the books to win games against NCAA rules DEFINITELY adhered to integrity of the game. Which is why SMU was given the death penalty back then. Cause they adhered to the integrity of the game LOL
Reggie bush did too. Why he was stripped of his heisman.
I can see why you went undrafted.
Kids you’re legally not allowed to be around within 500 feet can spell Sundays
So he gambles when he has anxiety? Given that NFL quarterbacks have the most stress and mentally taxing job in sport, I wouldn’t touch this guy with a barge pole. I’m not saying he should be permanently banned from ever playing in the NFL, but if I was a GM I would take him off the draft board, like you would a player with bone-on-bone in their knee. The guy is a ticking time bomb. And unlike a guy who could be forced to retire early due to a chronic injury, Sorsby’s issue could create all kinds of legal problems for a team. Stay away.