In a devastating blow to the concept of “football exceptionalism,” the NCAA rudely denied Texas Tech’s request to reinstate quarterback Brendan Sorsby. Sorsby just wrapped up a 35-day stay at an inpatient rehab facility for a gambling addiction and anxiety disorder. While we’re genuinely glad the kid is getting the help he needs, Tech administrators are absolutely flabbergasted that the NCAA is stubbornly sticking to its “permanent ineligibility” rule for, you know, gambling on sports.
Naturally, Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec responded by releasing a public relations masterpiece filled with institutional gaslighting. Schovanec invoked Tech’s “five shared values”—including “Integrity”—while simultaneously arguing that the rules shouldn’t apply to his star player. He even threw in some DSM-5 medical terminology and accused the NCAA of failing its own “culture of care.” It’s a bold strategy to lecture the compliance gods on mental health when everyone knows Tech just really, really wants to win some football games this fall.
Sorsby issued his own statement, taking responsibility and thanking the university for its unwavering support—support that surely has everything to do with his talent and absolutely nothing to do with the lack of depth at the position. The whole saga now heads to a Lubbock County courtroom on June 1st, where Tech lawyers will presumably try to convince a local judge that throwing touchdowns is a clinically proven cure for a gambling ban.
Who could have predicted that in the grand hierarchy of Texas Tech’s sacred core principles, having a winning season would completely override the entire NCAA rulebook?
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