EDITORIAL: Big 12 must sanction Texas Tech, Brendan Sorsby can't take the field

It has become increasingly hard to use the word integrity when describing college athletics, and much of that is the NCAA's own doing.

Unimaginably, though, whatever integrity might be left in big-time college athletics now may be in tatters because of a ruling out of Lubbock County.

In a ruling Monday from the 99th District Court in Lubbock County, visiting Judge Ken Curry (of Tarrant County) granted a temporary injunction that would allow Texas Tech University starting quarterback Brendan Sorsby to play next season despite having placed thousands of bets on college athletics and professional sports.

As a freshman, Sorsby was with Indiana University, where he placed 40 bets involving the football team. He then transferred to the University of Cincinnati, where the gambling continued, before joining Texas Tech in January.

Sorsby has admitted to a gambling addiction, and we wish him the best. But he has lost his place in college athletics. Wherever he plays, questions about the integrity of the game and whether the outcome is fair will follow. Allowing him to compete creates a terrible precedent.

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The NCAA is appealing the ruling to the 7th Court of Appeals in Amarillo.

Meanwhile, the Big 12 is pondering a path forward with some discussion about teams not playing Tech this year. The Big 12 could also sanction Tech as the NCAA has found Sorsby ineligible for past gambling, a violation of NCAA rules.

Whether college athletes are paid, the games are only as credible as the athletes who play them. This ruling is a disaster, and for the NCAA it is also a reckoning. Federal lawmakers need to create guardrails for college athletics. Texas Tech is driving off a cliff.

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This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 11:05 AM.