Football Player Gets Court Help to Play After Gambling Trouble

A college football player named Brendan Sorsby won a big court case this week. The 22-year-old quarterback was banned from playing because he bet money on college sports games. A judge in Texas said he can play for Texas Tech this fall anyway. Sorsby had bet on games while playing for his old team at Indiana University.

On Monday, Judge Ken Curry made the ruling that helps Sorsby. The judge said the NCAA cannot stop Sorsby from playing his final year of college football. However, Sorsby will still miss the first two games of the season as punishment. His lawyers had agreed to this penalty earlier.

The NCAA is the group that makes rules for college sports. They strongly disagreed with the judge's decision. The NCAA said this ruling could hurt the fairness of college sports. They worry that other players might think it's okay to bet on games now.

Court papers show that Sorsby made thousands of bets worth at least $90,000. He bet money while playing at three different schools: Indiana, Cincinnati, and Texas Tech. The worst part was that he made 40 bets on his own Indiana team in 2022. NCAA rules say players who bet on their own teams should be banned forever.

Sorsby moved to Texas Tech in January for a deal worth millions of dollars. The Red Raiders wanted him to be their starting quarterback. They hoped he would help them win their conference and make the college football playoffs again. Texas Tech had won their first Big 12 Conference title last year.

The NCAA found out about Sorsby's gambling from an online betting company in March. Law enforcement had told the betting company about the problem first. Texas Tech learned about the investigation in April. The school had to declare Sorsby unable to play while they tried to get him back on the team.

Sorsby's lawyer said the quarterback has a gambling addiction and anxiety problems. Sorsby spent a month getting help at a treatment center in Arizona. His lawyer argued that not letting him play football would hurt his mental health. The treatment center agreed that playing football would help his recovery.

The NCAA said they want to help student athletes with mental health problems. But they also said they must stop cheating in college sports. They believe betting on games hurts the fairness of competition. The NCAA can appeal this court decision to a higher court in Texas.

Texas Tech asked the NCAA twice to let Sorsby play, but both requests were denied. The school's president wrote a letter saying the NCAA's ruling should be changed. Texas Tech felt the punishment was too harsh for their new quarterback. The football season starts September 5 when Texas Tech plays at home against Abilene Christian.