Texas Tech defends playing QB Brendan Sorsby amid gambling addiction, says 'it's not murder'
Top leadership at Texas Tech on Wednesday defended their plan to play quarterback Brendan Sorsby next season while he treats his gambling addiction, insisting they are not trying to engineer his eligibility through the courts and dismissing widespread criticism of the Red Raiders that includes school discussions of boycotting their teams. Speaking to fans and boosters at the Houston Touchdown Club, coach Joey McGuire acknowledged the rage surrounding the situation, with athletic directors across college football saying that the NCAA ban on players who gamble should remain sacrosanct and a court order won this week by Sorsby to restore his eligibility crossed a line that should never be crossed.For some reason, as a society, weve been OK with other things that happen and allowing players to play, and this has been the one thing that has united people, that they were against, McGuire said. Its crazy because its not murder, its not beating somebody -- so theres a lot of things that were working through. None of this is OK.Texas Tech officials canceled a news conference that was scheduled for before the luncheon. After his speech, McGuire said he'd only take questions from Red Raider fans and answered them for about 10 minutes.According to court filingss earlier this year, Sorsby made thousands of impermissible bets on college and pro sports that were worth at least $90,000 while at Indiana, Cincinnati and Texas Tech. Those bets include the ones he made while a freshman with the Hoosiers in 2022, though none were on games in which he played. Sorsby sought the injunction against the NCAA in a lawsuit filed May 18, the same day Texas Tech ruled him ineligible, a necessary step before the school could pursue his reinstatement an effort twice denied by the NCAA.Three top Texas Tech leaders go on the offensiveCody Campbell, the billionaire Texas Tech booster and chairman of its board of regents, issued a statement and so did athletic director Kirby Hocutt, who said he wanted to offer a few facts that seem to be getting lost in the noise" and noting the school is not part of Sorsby's lawsuit against the NCAA.A young man in treatment for a clinically diagnosed addiction exercised his legal right to seek a remedy in court and a judge agreed with him, Hocutt said. Our role has been to support his recovery, not to engineer his eligibility.Under the court order, Sorsby will be suspended for the first two games of the season. The NCAA plans to appeal the ruling, with President Charlie Baker telling reporters in Las Vegas that the case illustrated a new low in college sports.McGuire likened Sorsby recovering from his addiction to fellow Texas Tech quarterback Will Hammonds recovery from knee surgery. Both he and Hocutt said Sorsby would be evaluated his recovery, compliance and readiness," the athletic director said before he would be cleared to play in Week 3 against Houston on Sept. 18 in the team's Big 12 opener.Ive sat down with this young man multiple times and the things that he is going through and what hes been through, its serious," McGuire said. And I have a number of people in my family that were addicted to different stuff and so Ive seen what addiction does to people.Billionaire booster says boycotting Texas Tech could lead to legal actionCampbell, a key figure in helping Texas Tech land top players over the past two years, took a far more aggressive and defiant stance on a podcast appearance with Dan Dakich.As it stands right now, the kid is eligible, so we dont have a whole lot of choice but to play him," he said. "Not only on a legal grounds, but ethically and morally. We told him we were going to back him up and support him, and Texas Tech does what it says its going to do and keeps the promises it makes.He also addressed reports that schools have been talking about boycotting Texas Tech in light of the ruling, suggesting that could lead to legal action. I love when the Big Ten or the K-State AD comes out and says weve all gotten together and weve talked about how were not going to play Tech, because guess what? Thats collusion, he said. "Thats an antitrust violation. So have fun with that one, guys. You cant do that.Hocutt also struck back at those who questioned what this does to the integrity of college football. The integrity of sport matters, he said, So does the integrity of how we treat a 22-year-old who sought help, entered residential treatment, and is working every day toward recovery. Those two things dont have to be in conflict.McGuire was adamant that the most important thing in this story is supporting Sorsby in his darkest times.Hes the first person to tell you it was his fault, McGuire said. He chose to do this, but when you know anything about addiction, theres a point that you choose it and then all of a sudden you dont choose it anymore. Theres not something that you can do by yourself to get past where youre at. So I wasnt going to turn my back on him. McGuire added that Sorsby was back in the building after spending some time away from the facilities while he was dealing with his issues.Do I see a different person? I know it sounds crazy, but I do, McGuire said. I see a kid that feels like hes got 1,000 pounds of weight lifted off of him. Hes made the statement that he feels like this is a moment that can actually change his life. Sorsby may soon explain himself to fans, criticsThe coach also said that Sorsby wants to address fans of his new school. At some point soon, I would expect Red Raiders will hear from Brendan Sorsby because I think its really important, McGuire said. And I will tell you, he thinks its really important for him to get everybody to understand exactly where hes at.The injunction comes with conditions that Sorsby must continue counseling for his gambling and to participate in peer support through Gamblers Anonymous or a similar group. He also must continue treatment to address the underlying anxiety that served as the primary driver of (his) gambling behavior.McGuire said Sorsby is working through many things right now and provided more details on restrictions that will be put in place for the quarterback in his return. He said that there will be technology on any device he has for us to know everything thats going on. Sorsby, who reportedly signed a multimillion-dollar deal to join the Red Raiders after two years at Cincinnati and two years at Indiana, will have a person that will account for every single penny that he has.The proper steps are in place to get for him to get to the point where we can get him playing, McGuire said. Theres a lot of stuff to go through.___AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
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