Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office has threatened the Big 12 Conference with legal action if they attempt to sanction Texas Tech University for playing quarterback Brendan Sorsby in the upcoming season. Sorsby was banned by the NCAA after court filings revealed he had placed at least $90,000 in sports bets while attending Texas Tech and playing football at other universities.
Background
Sorsby had placed bets on his own team while playing at Indiana and had sent money to people in other states to bet on his behalf while in Texas, where sports betting is illegal. He sued to regain his eligibility and a state district judge in Lubbock blocked the NCAA from prohibiting Sorsby from playing most of the upcoming season, stipulating that he must continue treatment for his gambling disorder and sit out the first two games.
The NCAA is appealing the ruling, which has sparked criticism from officials at other universities and threats to cancel sporting events that include Texas Tech. In a letter sent on behalf of Texas Tech, Paxton’s office warned the Big 12 that any effort to ‘disadvantage’ the university would be illegal, prompting a swift reprisal from the attorney general’s office.
Legal Action
The letter, signed by Thomas York, chief of the agency’s antitrust division, stated that the total exposure for both the Big 12 and its members would be substantially more than $200 million. Texas Tech Board of Regents Chair Cody Campbell had previously stated that there would be a legal fight if teams or conferences boycott the university, calling it an ‘antitrust violation’.
Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt defended Sorsby’s eligibility, asking critics to understand the nuance of Sorsby’s addiction. ‘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.’
Original reporting: Texas Tribune (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
