Big 12 files lawsuit against Texas Tech seeking court approval to sanction school over Brendan Sorsby
The Big 12 Conference wants to sanction Texas Tech for its intention on playing Brendan Sorsby this upcoming season, and it is asking a court in the Northern District of Texas to pave the way for its penalties to hold up.
In a lawsuit filed Monday morning in the Northern District of Texas, the conference took direct aim at Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt and others involved in a legal battle that resulted in a local judge granting Sorsby an injunction and restoring his eligibility for the upcoming season.
TEXAS AG THREATENS LEGAL WAR AGAINST BIG 12 OVER POTENTIAL SANCTIONS AROUND BRENDAN SORSBY
This was all ramped up last week, when Paxton, along with lawyers representing Texas Tech, published a statement saying both parties would sue the Big 12 conference if they were to hand down any sanctions toward the school for abiding by a judge's order in allowing Sorsby to play.
During meetings with athletic directors and the executive committee over the past five days, the Big 12 had made it clear it was looking into potential ways to sanction Texas Tech.
The problem was that the school, or Sorsby, would immediately file a lawsuit against the conference in hopes of another injunction being granted.
What could these potential punishments against Texas Tech look like?
There could be "Prohibitions on appearance in postseason events or televised events" (such as conference championships) and "restrictions on revenue distributions", which is just an example provided by the Big 12 conference.
Officials have also discussed ruling Sorsby ineligible, which would mean every game he plays for Texas Tech would technically be a forfeit against the opposing team.
"During the week prior to filing this Complaint, TTU communicated its intent directly to the Conference to field Sorsby in Conference football games. Though TTU has been asked by both the Conference and many University Presidents, Athletic Directors, and other representatives of Big 12 Member Institutions to choose not to field Sorsby in Conference competitions, TTU has not agreed to such requests," the complaint reads.
In their calls last week, Big 12 officials essentially asked Texas Tech not to force them into this move of filing a complaint against them, by simply not playing Sorsby this season and abiding by the NCAA ruling.
"In an industry that rarely agrees on anything, there is finally an issue that everyone seems to agree on [other than TTU and the Attorney General]: universities should not field players who have bet on their own team's games in college athletics," the complaint reads.
Obviously, that has fallen on deaf ears, which then led to a very awkward 22-minute video last week from Texas Tech officials discussing why they were standing beside Sorsby.
In their reasoning for their stance on Sorsby and gambling, Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec tried to make the point that NCAA rules were antiquated, and that millions of students have access to apps that allow the placing of bets.
"I think we have to recognize the rules in place now we’re made long before there were millions of young people walking around with a legal gambling apparatus in their pocket"
Judging by the responses on social media, that argument did not sit well with plenty of college football fans across the country.
What is the reasoning for which the Big 12 feels as though these actions from Texas Tech constitute punishment? It all centers around the thousands of wagers placed by Sorsby over the past four years, which included betting on his own team while at Indiana, along with Hoosiers' basketball and Cincinnati hoops.
"When one Member Institution allows a student-athlete whose admitted conduct creates serious integrity concerns to compete in Conference games for Conference championships, the consequences extend beyond that institution," the complaint reads.
In essence, the Big 12 has filed this lawsuit against Texas Tech to be granted the actual power to punish the school if it does end up playing Sorsby.
The conference just wants a judge to say it’s OK, and grant them an injunction to do so.
Now, we wait on another Texas judge to decide where this saga goes from here, but it's clear that the Big 12 conference is ready to sanction the Texas Tech program.