Leave it to Texas Tech to trigger a multi-state legal war, alienate half the collegiate sports world, and get sued by our own conference, all for a guy who will literally never play a single down for the Red Raiders. Our prized transfer quarterback, Brendan Sorsby—who was brought in on a flashy $5 million NIL package—has officially declared for the NFL Supplemental Draft. This comes right after he admitted to placing over 9,000 sports bets totaling $90,000 during his college career, including wagering on his own team back at Indiana. But because this is Lubbock, a local county judge naturally granted him an injunction to play anyway, prompting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to threaten the Big 12 with legal hellfire if anyone dared bench our beloved, gambling-addicted savior.
Naturally, the rest of the country didn’t find our “rules are for losers” attitude quite as charming. Before Sorsby ultimately folded his hand, the Big 12 filed a blistering 47-page federal lawsuit against Tech, threatening to withhold our conference revenue and ban us from the postseason championship game. Meanwhile, athletic departments nationwide panicked; Georgia, Nebraska, and Michigan straight up canceled scheduled sports matchups against Tech in protest. Just as the drama reached peak reality-TV levels, Sorsby looked at the mounting legal clusterflick, realized the NFL’s June 22 deadline was ticking away, and decided to bounce—leaving Tech with a wrecked athletic schedule, a pending federal lawsuit, and a backup quarterback recovering from a torn ACL.
But don’t worry, the Tech administration is treating this unmitigated disaster like a profound spiritual victory. Board of Regents Chairman and megadonor Cody Campbell released a hilariously melodramatic statement about “doing the right thing” and “standing on solid legal ground,” while confirming that the school will not seek a refund for the $1 million Sorsby already pocketed.
“Brendan, while he made many mistakes that he openly admits, has also been part of a much larger broken and predatory system… It is gut-wrenching that there is no viable path to providing him with redemption at the collegiate level.” — Cody Campbell, Tech Board of Regents Chairman
Nothing says “redemption” quite like walking away with a cool million bucks for zero downs played and five weeks of rehab in Arizona.
At least we can sleep easy tonight knowing that while Texas Tech might not win a football championship this year, we remain the undisputed, undefeated champions of paying people seven figures to completely ruin our reputation.
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