'What’s the point?': Brendan Sorsby's eligibility gambles with college football's future

It has never cost more to be a sports fan than it does now. Just ask anyone trying to get tickets to Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

But we put up with all the hassles and all the inconveniences because we love the game itself.

We stay for the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, and for the unknown. Maybe a third-string, walk-on quarterback will throw the game-winning pass. Or, perhaps, Steph Curry will make a basket that seems to go against the laws of physics. We show up and walk through that turnstile because we have no idea exactly what will unfold in front of us. We stay up past midnight to watch the end of a playoff game because we can’t possibly imagine missing out. Everyone always says sports is the real reality TV, and everyone is right.

When we watch sporting events, we believe we are watching a competition that is as fair as possible.

There are rules that both sides agree to follow to determine a winner. There are rules that determine who is allowed to participate and who can’t. And we believe that no one involved in the game, meet or match, is fixing it. We believe that no one directly involved in the competition has money riding on a specific outcome — whether that’s a point total, an under or the final result itself.

Otherwise, what’s the point? Why pretend something is real when it’s been manipulated?

This is why professional and college athletes are banned from betting on their own teams. Even in leagues that allow some sports gambling, there are strict rules around where and when and on what athletes are betting.

Because you cannot compromise the integrity of the contest itself.

That’s why the NCAA permanently banned Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who admitted to wagering at least $90,000 on more than 9,000 bets over the course of his college career. At least 40 of those bets were on Indiana football while he was a member of the Indiana football team (which is, obviously, against NCAA rules).

According to an NCAA filing, Sorsby also placed at least 40 bets totaling more than $1,400 on Indiana men’s basketball and roughly 300 bets totaling more than $6,500 involving non-Indiana college football teams (actions that are both against NCAA rules).

It's one of those somewhat rare instances where the NCAA is absolutely correct in its position. The popular punching bag should, of course, treat betting on one’s own team as a line in the sand. There’s no defense for it. You’d think that permanent ineligibility is a punishment severe enough to deter it.

But not if you can find a friendly judge.

In Sorsby’s case, that would be Texas District Court Judge Ken Curry, who granted Sorsby a temporary injunction on Monday that essentially overturns the NCAA ban. That would mean Sorsby is eligible to play college football for Texas Tech this fall after completing residential treatment for what he termed “a diagnosed gambling addiction and anxiety disorder.” Interestingly enough, not only did Curry decide to prevent the NCAA from enforcing its anti-gambling penalties, he opted to punish Sorsby himself with a two-game suspension.

"This Court finds that (Sorsby) has demonstrated that he will suffer a probable, imminent and irreparable injury if this Court does not issue this temporary injunction because he will be unable to participate as a member of Texas Tech University's 2026 football team,” Curry wrote.

Translation: Because Brendan Sorsby said he needs to play football to improve his mental health, he must play football.

It’s an argument that actually makes a mockery of mental health concerns and anxiety disorders. It treats mental health as a get-out-of-jail-free card instead of something to be taken seriously (with therapy, time, and perhaps even medication). It opens the door for another football player who breaks rules to avoid the consequences of his own actions by saying he would prefer not to deal with the punishment. It would harm his mental health. It would make him happiest if he could do the thing he wants whenever he wants.

“The NCAA strongly disagrees with the court’s ruling in this case and is deeply concerned about the damaging, far-reaching and broadly destabilizing ramifications of this outcome — which undermines and corrupts the integrity of sports,” the NCAA said in a statement. “The NCAA is committed to supporting student-athlete mental health but must continue to aggressively defend against actions that defraud college athletics and threaten competitive integrity, such as betting on one’s own sport.”

The NCAA is right on point. The situation is as dire as it seems, and an outcome that results in Sorsby taking the field this fall must be prevented at all costs — whether that’s through an appeal, federal help or even Big 12 interference. Actions should have consequences, and those consequences should not be voided by friendly judges who can be swayed oh-so-easily by the home team.

Otherwise, what’s the point? Why watch? Why care at all?