Brendan Sorsby wins court injunction against the NCAA despite betting on his own team multiple times
Brendan Sorsby's lawyer argued last Monday that the NCAA should have reinstated the Texas Tech quarterback to play this upcoming season due to his rampant gambling being tied to a mental health disorder.
The squabble between both sides had been ongoing since the NCAA was alerted that Sorsby had placed numerous bets on his own football team while enrolled at Indiana, starting with the 2022 season, along with thousands of other wagers on different sports.
On Monday, Judge Ken Curry ruled that the case attorney Jeffrey Kessler presented was enough for Sorsby to be granted a temporary injunction by the court.
"The Court finds that applicant has demonstrated that he will suffer a probable, imminent, and irreparable injury if this court does not issue the temporary injunction because he will be unable to participate as a member of Texas Tech University's 2026 football team, including Texas Tech's 2026 football season," Judge Curry wrote.
From the start, this felt like an open-and-shut case, based on one incident during his redshirt year at Indiana. But, the court had other opinions.
In the court's order, the NCAA is enjoined to not: Prohibit Sorsby from practicing, playing or otherwise participating on Texas Tech's football team for the 2026 football season.
But, Brendan will be suspended for the opening two games of the 2026 season, according to the court, which is based on the proposed punishment from Sorsby's camp to the NCAA in negotiations.
HAIL MARY IN LUBBOCK: BRENDAN SORSBY’S LAST SHOT AT BEATING NCAA GAMBLING ALLEGATIONS
Brendan Sorsby gambled on his own team, yet the NCAA is somehow the bad guy in this case
Brendan Sorsby broke the one rule in college athletics that you just don't break: he bet on his own team.
Also, it was the large amounts of bets placed during his time in college that were an overwhelming product of the NCAA's decision to rule Brendan Sorsby ineligible.
TEXAS TECH QB BRENDAN SORSBY ENTERING TREATMENT FOR GAMBLING ADDICTION AMID NCAA INVESTIGATION
Brendan Sorsby admitted to gambling on Indiana and Cincinnati basketball while enrolled at the two schools. The quarterback, through an affidavit filing, admitted to placing at least 2,900 wagers for more than $30,000 during his time in Bloomington. Of those, through his own admission, 40 were on Indiana football while he was on the scout team, and before he stepped onto the field during the 2022 season against Penn State during his only appearance.
Sorsby wagered at least $90,000 since since enrolling in college:
HAIL MARY IN LUBBOCK: BRENDAN SORSBY’S LAST SHOT AT BEATING NCAA GAMBLING ALLEGATIONS
In their defense of his gambling, attorneys for Sorsby used his 'mental health disorder' as a reasoning as to why the NCAA should have accepted the two-game suspension proposal from the quarterback, while also proclaiming that none of the bets placed were compromising the actual game.
"This case, I think, is badly misunderstood by a lot of people," Kessler proclaimed. "It's very important that everyone understand that it is undisputed that (Sorsby) never did any betting to compromise the integrity of his team, the bets he made on his team was when he was not participating in that team and he never bet again to do that.
"And what this case is about is when you have no threat to competitive integrity, but you have a mental illness of gambling addiction, which is plaguing — plaguing — student-athletes across the country, the NCAA said in its policies it would consider that it would support the athlete and instead they want to punish him. That's wrong,"
No, in the real world, Sorsby was punished by the NCAA for breaking the rules, which came four years after placing his first bet on Indiana football.
But, taking the NCAA to court for enforcing its own rules has become the new norm in college athletics. In this case, Brendan Sorsby sued the organization in a Lubbock, Texas, district court in hopes of getting the hometown treatment.
Now, you can throw all of that out the window, as this will cause a major ripple-effect on college athletics moving forward.