The Lone Star State has Texas Tech’s back. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a formal communication to the Big 12 officials, threatening legal action if the conference sanctions the school for supporting quarterback Brendan Sorsby.
Sorsby has been in a legal battle with the NCAA for the better part of the year, following a lifetime ban from collegiate athletics due to his sports gambling activities. Recently, the quarterback won an injunction from a Texas District judge that allows him to participate in college football activities.
He did so with the support of Texas Tech University, and thus comes the fear that if the NCAA isn’t allowed to sanction the school and player, the Big 12 might. Think again, says Paxton’s letter:
“We are aware that the Big 12 is considering invoking Bylaw 3.6 of the Big 12’s Bylaws to sanction Texas Tech for respecting the Order and continuing its support of Mr. Sorsby as a student-athlete,” Paxton’s letter reads. “This letter serves to notify the Big 12 that any such action would be unlawful and would expose the Conference to substantial liability.
“Any sanction against Texas Tech for acting consistent with the Order would be a per se violation of federal and state antitrust laws — a naked horizontal agreement among competitors to disadvantage Texas Tech by cutting off access to the resources it needs to compete,” the letter continues. “… The Conference would face exposure to treble damages, including for Texas Tech’s lost football revenues, damages to its alumni contributions and damages to its recruitment, plus attorneys’ fees. The total exposure — for both the Big 12 and its members, joint and severally — will be substantially more than $200 million.
“… Texas Tech is confident the Big 12 will choose to act within the confines of the law and respect both the judicial process and its own Rules and Bylaws. However, should the Big 12 seek to sanction Texas Tech for acting consistent with the Order, Texas Tech will pursue all legal avenues to protect its interests and those of Texas Tech’s student athletes.”
The letter was sent directly to Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark and the chair of its board of directors, the same day the conference is set to meet to discuss the implications of the Brendan Sorsby injunction.
What Did Brendan Sorsby Do?
Sorsby has a long story of sports betting that goes back to his time with the Indiana Hoosiers and continued during his stints at Cincinnati and Texas Tech. Particularly appalling to the NCAA was the fact that he placed some 40 bets on the Indiana Hoosiers football and basketball games while he was a member of the school’s football roster.
It’s important to note, however, that he never appeared in any of the games on which he placed bets. It’s also difficult to pinpoint his gambling activity, as he started doing it while underage, and sports gambling is illegal in Texas, so he used proxies and family to place bets.
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