Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby is entering a residential treatment program for a gambling addiction and will be away from the team indefinitely, he and the Red Raiders announced Monday in a joint statement.
According to ESPN, Sorsby decided to seek treatment after it was discovered he made “thousands of online bets on a variety of sports via a gambling app.”
Multiple media outlets are reporting that Sorsby placed bets on Indiana football to win games during the 2022 season, when he was a redshirt freshman for the Hoosiers. He reportedly did not place bets on the one game in which he participated that season.
“We love Brendan and support his decision to seek professional help,” Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire said in a statement. “Taking this step requires courage, and our primary focus is on him as a person. Our program is behind Brendan as he prioritizes his health.”
The team said it would have no further statement on Sorsby’s status or treatment progress at this time.
The NCAA is investigating Sorsby’s gambling, according to multiple media reports.
“Due to confidentiality rules put in place by NCAA member schools, the NCAA will not comment on current, pending or potential investigations,” the NCAA said Monday in a statement released to news organizations.
“However, the NCAA takes sports betting very seriously and is committed to the protection of student-athlete well-being and the integrity of competition. The Association works with integrity monitoring services, state regulators and other stakeholders to conduct appropriate due diligence whenever reports are received.”
The most recent NCAA guidelines about sports wagering state that student-athletes who bet on their own games or on other sports at their school could “potentially face permanent loss of collegiate eligibility.” Betting on their sport in games not involving their school could result in “the loss of 50% of one season of eligibility will be considered.”
Other violations could also result in loss of eligibilty with the amount of time missed based on the amount of money wagered.
Sorsby spent two seasons at Indiana and two at Cincinnati before transferring to Texas Tech this offseason for his final year of eligibility. He has completed 61.4% of his passes for 7,208 yards with 60 touchdowns and 18 interceptions, and rushed for 1,295 yards and 22 touchdowns.
Cincinnati has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio against Sorsby for allegedly breaching the name, image and likeness contract he signed in July that stated a $1-million buyout would be required within 30 days if he transferred.
On Monday, Sorsby’s attorneys filed a motion to dismiss, stating that “the parties’ contractual intent to pay Mr. Sorsby for playing football was fully realized, and UC’s attempt to now unlawfully penalize Mr. Sorsby for exercising his transfer right under the NCAA’s rules and UC’s efforts to discourage and threaten other players from doing the same thing is invalid as a matter of law.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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