Texas Tech officials went on the offensive Wednesday “in support” of QB Brendan Sorsby, according to Joseph Duarte of the HOUSTON CHRONICLE. Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire during a lunch for the Touchdown Club of Houston made his first public appearance since Sorsby was granted an injunction against the NCAA for betting on his own team, and he “defended plans to play Sorsby next season.” He added that Sorsby may not to ready to return after he serves a two-game suspension due to his “recovery from gambling addiction and any possible legal hurdles to come.” McGuire said, “For some reason, as a society, we’ve been OK with other things that happen and allowing players to play, and this has been the one thing that has united people, that that they were against. It’s crazy because it’s not murder, it’s not beating somebody.” Texas Tech AD Kirby Hocutt also came out and, in a statement, said that the school “was not trying to ‘engineer his eligibility.’” McGuire and Hocutt “took different tones,” saying that the “focus has been to assist Sorsby in his recovery.” They also pointed out that Texas Tech was not part of Sorsby’s lawsuit. McGuire: “This was not Texas Tech taking the NCAA to court. What we did was support our player that is an addict” (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 6/10).
CAMPBELL TAKES DIFFERENT APPROACH: THE ATHLETIC’s Sam Khan Jr. noted Texas Tech Board of Regents Chair Cody Campbell appeared on the “Don’t @ Me With Dan Dakich” podcast and “took a much more defiant tone.” Campbell said, “There are kids that are playing that have gotten DUIs, that have beaten up women, kids that have committed horrible acts. Nobody boycotted Penn State when that horrible situation happened there.” Campbell also responded to “criticism directed at Texas Tech, decisions not to schedule the Red Raiders and potential boycotts or Big 12 action, chalking it up to jealousy.” He threatened “legal action if teams that have Tech on their schedule opted not to play.” Campbell: “I love when the Big Ten or the K-State AD comes out and says we’ve all gotten together and we’ve talked about how we’re not going to play Tech, because guess what? That’s collusion. That’s an antitrust violation. So have fun with that one, guys. You can’t do that.” Asked whether lawsuits would follow if Texas Tech was banned from the CFP, which is not controlled by the NCAA, Campbell said, “100 percent” (THE ATHLETIC, 6/10).
IS IT REALLY WORTH IT? THE ATHLETIC’s Stewart Mandel writes Texas Tech leaders “should be asking themselves ... Are we sure this is worth it?” Mandel: “Doubling and tripling down on this insulting narrative that they’re just nobly helping a troubled kid with his addiction recovery -- not that they’re still on the hook for his $4 million-plus contract and that they need him to win a championship -- is only making people madder by the minute.” Mandel notes this “continued crusade could have far more damaging consequences for their university than playing their backup quarterback” (THE ATHLETIC, 6/11).
NO MORE EXCUSES: USA TODAY’s Matt Hayes wrote under the header, “From Envied By Most, To Hated By All. Texas Tech Crossed A Line It Can’t Explain Away.” How the school “couldn’t see this coming weeks away -- while fumbling its response” to Sorsby’s admitted gambling addiction -- is as “profoundly remarkable as it was completely avoidable.” Hayes: “No excuse for Texas Tech to not simply tell Sorsby ... you can play somewhere else, but you’re not playing here. No excuse to make it clear to all involved in the ever-flexible world of college sports rules enforcement, this was the line no one can cross” (USA TODAY, 6/10).
