Link: Texas Tech QB Sorsby Entering Treatment for Gambling Addiction

[KrAzY3]

So somebody dropped the ball in prosecuting him!

Well, they could have been in the early stages of evidence gathering. I would note that some of the more serious stuff involves what he did at Texas Tech (sent thousands out of state to place bets), which is relatively recent.

I asked AI, which is obviously not reliable to go over the Texas stuff and here's what it came up with. But he's also admitted to under-age gambling in other states as well for instance (and we're just going off what's publicly available):
"Offense Potential Penalties in Texas

Illegal Gambling
Under Texas Penal Code § 47.02, placing a bet is generally a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500.

Promoting Gambling
If an individual is found to be running an operation, taking a "cut," or organizing bets for others, it can be elevated to a Class A misdemeanor (up to 1 year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000).

Federal Implications
Utilizing proxies or interstate channels to bypass state-specific gambling prohibitions can sometimes draw federal scrutiny under the Wire Act, though this is typically reserved for large-scale illegal gambling operations rather than individual participants.

Fraud/Identity Issues
Using family members' or friends' identities to bypass age verification or platform restrictions could potentially lead to charges of fraud or identity-related offenses, depending on the severity and whether it caused financial loss to those parties"

Having said that, it all depends on who was doing the investigating anyway. Not like I'd trust Texas in this and he was breaking Texas laws. When you take a look though, most bets Sorsby placed were in fact illegal, often breaking more than one law at once. We're talking about 9,000 bets that totaled about $90,000 that we know of.

 

[NoNC4Tubs]

You’re asking the wrong guy haha I think the seated judge recused himself and somehow they arrived on a retired judge for impartiality. Similar to bediako but with the opposite mindset

Sorry, wasn't directed at you but as a general question for anybody...

I don't understand why a retired judge has ANY authority.

 

[tideindc]

In Maryland retired judges hear cases all the time. Usually minor stuff when the active judges are in vacation , involved in a major lengthy trial etc. They fill in like a substitute teacher.

 

[Elefantman]

The judge was retired but was in the same country club as Cody from what I’ve seen online

You talking about this judge???

 

[CrimsonTitles]

I'm hearing that Sorsby may not even be eligible for the Supplemental Draft. The Supplemental Draft is only for ineligible players. Thanks to that judge, Sorsby is now eligible. His attorney may try to argue to the NFL that he was already gonna be ineligible thanks to the Big 12 pursuits, but there is no guarantee that would be acceptable. Texas Tech may have to "do him a solid", and dismiss him from the team first.

He may end up having to sit out until the 2027 draft, but that would honestly probably be the best thing for him, if he truly does have an addiction, and truly is intent on getting better.

 

[CrimsonTitles]

No, the NFL can't do anything to him because he didn't do it within their league. But teams aren't required to sign him either and so far, all the teams who have publicly spoken about this situation have said they wouldn't take a chance on him. But, I'm sure there's one team who'll be desperate enough to try.

They can't suspend him, but they could deny his request to enter the supplemental draft, effectively suspending him until the 2027 draft under the basis that he would be self-manufacturing his ineligibility by dismissing the lawsuit, so they would basically be saying "you filed suit to skirt the rules, deal with the consequences". If he hadn't filed suit, he would be eligible for the supplemental draft.

 

[KrAzY3]

I'm hearing that Sorsby may not even be eligible for the Supplemental Draft. The Supplemental Draft is only for ineligible players. Thanks to that judge, Sorsby is now eligible.

My understanding is that they can just withdraw the case, which will make him ineligible again.

Along those lines, there's actually an interesting wrinkle to the way this playing out. The idiot booster/regent/chairman/ceo of Texas Tech football went out there and said that Texas Tech was legally correct on this issue. This gives the Big 12 cover if they want to continue to pursue their case.

The case they opened deliberately sidestepped the Sorsby injunction, basically arguing their rights to act on such matters, without explicitly stating an intention to take action regarding Sorsby (as I understand it at least). This was important because courts don't tend to want to overrule other judge's ruling, so as long as Sorsby was ruled eligible, they might have been disinclined to take action that ultimately would have made him ineligible.

The biggest obstacle to their case is now gone. They can assert their authority without that specific case in their way. If they do this and it works, this will provide an alternative way to address these absurd eligibility rulings coming from from basically rogue judged at the state level. The conferences if their authority is upheld at the federal level can start to act in some of these cases.

 

[CrimsonTitles]

My understanding is that they can just withdraw the case, which will make him ineligible again.

Along those lines, there's actually an interesting wrinkle to the way this playing out. The idiot booster/regent/chairman/ceo of Texas Tech football went out there and said that Texas Tech was legally correct on this issue. This gives the Big 12 cover if they want to continue to pursue their case.

The case they opened deliberately sidestepped the Sorsby injunction, basically arguing their rights to act on such matters, without explicitly stating an intention to take action regarding Sorsby (as I understand it at least). This was important because courts don't tend to want to overrule other judge's ruling, so as long as Sorsby was ruled eligible, they might have been disinclined to take action that ultimately would have made him ineligible.

The biggest obstacle to their case is now gone. They can assert their authority without that specific case in their way. If they do this and it works, this will provide an alternative way to address these absurd eligibility rulings coming from from basically rogue judged at the state level. The conferences if their authority is upheld at the federal level can start to act in some of these cases.

Yeah, disnissing the case is what they're trying, but there's no guarantee it will work. The NFL could easily argue his ineligibility was self manufactured, and deny him on those grounds. It's up to the discretion of the NFL at this point, and they have no obligation to grant him a supplemental draft. According to Google Gemini, they don't even have to provide an explanation. It's my understanding there is zero precedent for the NFL holding a supplemental draft for someone accused of gambling on games, so they might just deny it because this would be the only way they could punish him, and since it's gambling, I do believe they would care about that. And then the fact he has self-manufactured his ineligibility gives them an easy public answer if they so choose.

 

[JDCrimson]

I dont know if its been argued in court yet, but I dont think the conferences have the same problem the NCAA has. The NCAA has no anti-trust exemption which is an element of why they are losing the cases. The conferences, given there are several of them, means the player has a choice to play another conference if he doesnt like the way another conference is treating him.

That basis doesnt really solve all the eligibility issues because all the conferences want the same rules but it does come in handy on pushing back on the obvious and absurd situations being tested in court right now.

 

[4Q Basket Case]

I dont know if its been argued in court yet, but I dont think the conferences have the same problem the NCAA has. The NCAA has no anti-trust exemption which is an element of why they are losing the cases. The conferences, given there are several of them, means the player has a choice to play another conference if he doesnt like the way another conference is treating him.

That basis doesnt really solve all the eligibility issues because all the conferences want the same rules but it does come in handy on pushing back on the obvious and absurd situations being tested in court right now.

Example #23,684,961 of why the only solution to all this mess will involve Congressional action -- specific legislation, an anti-trust exemption or a CBA.

Separate and apart from that, though, would be the reception Sorsby would receive in any opposing collegiate stadium. The boos would register on the Richter Scale, and they would be constant the entire time he was on the field. It'd make the reception Saban received his first trip back to Baton Rouge look absolutely welcoming.

 

[bamadwain]

Number 1, Sorsby is withdrawing because he has only a few weeks or months to enter supplemental draft,so if this continued on he could've been ineligible and missed the season Number 2, Texas Tech can say all they want, but I guarantee you they told him to leave, because it was causing all this backlash, I mean even a Big10 school canceled a volleyball match with them, we're talking volleyball, they did this because if there is ever a super conference they would not been invited if they pushed this forward

 

[AlexanderFan]

Number 1, Sorsby is withdrawing because he has only a few weeks or months to enter supplemental draft,so if this continued on he could've been ineligible and missed the season Number 2, Texas Tech can say all they want, but I guarantee you they told him to leave, because it was causing all this backlash, I mean even a Big10 school canceled a volleyball match with them, we're talking volleyball, they did this because if there is ever a super conference they would not been invited if they pushed this forward

The fallout became bigger than whatever one successful football season could bring in for sure.

 

[NoNC4Tubs]

Example #23,684,961 of why the only solution to all this mess will involve Congressional action -- specific legislation, an anti-trust exemption or a CBA.

Separate and apart from that, though, would be the reception Sorsby would receive in any opposing collegiate stadium. The boos would register on the Richter Scale, and they would be constant the entire time he was on the field. It'd make the reception Saban received his first trip back to Baton Rouge look absolutely welcoming.

I could see a stadium full of people holding up dollar bills.....

 

[CrimsonNagus]

This dude ain't getting taken in a supplemental draft. The way the bidding works means a team that takes him loses that pick in next year's draft. Does anyone really think a team will throw away a future draft pick on a meh QB with a history of gambling on his own team? He'll end up in the USFL, CFL, or an arena league.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

They can't suspend him, but they could deny his request to enter the supplemental draft, effectively suspending him until the 2027 draft under the basis that he would be self-manufacturing his ineligibility by dismissing the lawsuit, so they would basically be saying "you filed suit to skirt the rules, deal with the consequences". If he hadn't filed suit, he would be eligible for the supplemental draft.

Yes, I didn't think about that. They can deny him entry into the draft. I wonder if they can just completely deny him entry into the league?

 

[4Q Basket Case]

Yes, I didn't think about that. They can deny him entry into the draft. I wonder if they can just completely deny him entry into the league?

I think Goodell has the power to do just about anything if he believes it’s in the league’s best interest.

As a practical matter, he consults owners on issues large and small. But I don’t think he absolutely has to.

 

[KrAzY3]

I dont know if its been argued in court yet, but I dont think the conferences have the same problem the NCAA has. The NCAA has no anti-trust exemption which is an element of why they are losing the cases. The conferences, given there are several of them, means the player has a choice to play another conference if he doesnt like the way another conference is treating him.

That basis doesnt really solve all the eligibility issues because all the conferences want the same rules but it does come in handy on pushing back on the obvious and absurd situations being tested in court right now.

The NCAA also has a lengthy track record of semi-random eligibility decisions. The Bediako thing was a good example. They let paid G League players in the NCAA, they let European pros in the NCAA, but then they were like alright he signed with an NBA team (that he did not play for) so he can't play. Despite the court siding with the NCAA in this case, you can see why such arbitrary distinctions don't always hold up in court.

So yes I do think that the conference level is the most likely way we can start to see some semblance of order and reason be restored. Also I would add that, I understand why some want broader legislation or agreements reached, but this mess really took off when politicians became involved. Each major change in college sport has only made things worse in my opinion.

We can go all the way back to the playoff. Did it really make the sport better (we're now on the verge of a 24 team playoff)? Did the transfer portal? Did NIL? What major change in recent memory has actually been an improvement? So to me the most important thing is just if college sports can achieve some sort of stability, something to bring some order (like conferences stepping up to police themselves), without another massive change that will bring with it other massive unintended consequences.

 

[KrAzY3]

I'm usually not that big on replying twice in a row, but since the powers that be are trying to speed run the destruction of football I thought this topic might be as good a place as any to address it.

So there's the Sorsby situation, with Cody Campbell in the background pulling the strings.

Then there's the bill that is in the Senate, co-cosponsored by Ted Cruz. Who is one of the top donors to Cruz? Cody Campbell, who donated half a million dollars to him. He simultaneously supported Sorsby playing and this bill for the record. So you get Cody creating the problem then trying to sell us the solution.

This bill does things like lock in spending, which might sound great unless you consider how unsustainable some spending is. It also locks the membership of the top 4 conferences. While people might be tired of expansion, this is pretty darn stupid because it's as likely to push the Big 10 and SEC away without other top programs as it is to do anything else. It permanently stratifies the conferences.

Of course the end game for this is Cody hopes to force the Big 10 and SEC into a pool where they by law have to share their TV revenue with programs people don't want to watch on TV, Fortunately that isn't in the bill... yet (well it is, but currently voluntary).

To something I addressed elsewhere about the political nature of expansion, the reason this has momentum is that the SEC and Big 10 are only present in about half the states and a little over half the population. This doesn't really give them the political power to call the shots here.

 

[Cruiser]

I'm usually not that big on replying twice in a row, but since the powers that be are trying to speed run the destruction of football I thought this topic might be as good a place as any to address it.

So there's the Sorsby situation, with Cody Campbell in the background pulling the strings.

Then there's the bill that is in the Senate, co-cosponsored by Ted Cruz. Who is one of the top donors to Cruz? Cody Campbell, who donated half a billion dollars to him. He simultaneously supported Sorsby playing and this bill for the record. So you get Cody creating the problem then trying to sell us the solution.

This bill does things like lock in spending, which might sound great unless you consider how unsustainable some spending is. It also locks the membership of the top 4 conferences. While people might be tired of expansion, this is pretty darn stupid because it's as likely to push the Big 10 and SEC away without other top programs as it is to do anything else. It permanently stratifies the conferences.

Of course the end game for this is Cody hopes to force the Big 10 and SEC into a pool where they by law have to share their TV revenue with programs people don't want to watch on TV, Fortunately that isn't in the bill... yet (well it is, but currently voluntary).

To something I addressed elsewhere about the political nature of expansion, the reason this has momentum is that the SEC and Big 10 are only present in about half the states and a little over half the population. This doesn't really give them the political power to call the shots here.

He donated half a million($500,000) to Cruz; not half a billion. A substantial amount; no less.

 

[KrAzY3]

He donated half a million($500,000) to Cruz; not half a billion. A substantial amount; no less.

I was aware it was $500,000 just not sure why I typed a billion instead of million, haha.

Fun fact to distract from that, did you know in German it's:
Million for a million
Milliarde for a billion
Billion for a trillion