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Max Olson
Multiple Authors
As the Big 12 continues to consider actions against Texas Tech and quarterback Brendan Sorsby, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond is calling on the conference to suspend Sorsby.
In a letter sent to Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark and board chairman Douglas Girod on Friday, Drummond supported the conference’s ability to sanction Texas Tech and Sorsby and recommended the Big 12 take action, rejecting recent threats from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that the conference cannot do so as “meritless” and “facially absurd.”
“[Texas Tech’s] actions in obtaining eligibility for Brendan Sorsby — an athlete the NCAA declared permanently ineligible for extensive wagering on college sports, including games involving his own team — have constituted a shameful chapter in the story of college football,” Drummond wrote. “Texas Tech has acted in a manner adverse to the Big 12 and the integrity of college football as a whole.”
Drummond argued that the preliminary injunction Sorsby obtained in Lubbock district court Monday applies only to the NCAA and should not impede the Big 12 from suspending the quarterback, noting that the conference was not a party to that proceeding and can enforce its own bylaws.
“[Texas Tech] has shirked responsibility by running with a bogus claim to a friendly court,” Drummond wrote. “Its leadership has prioritized winning over sport, over honor and over integrity. If Texas Tech will not do the right thing, the Big 12 should. Texas Tech should be sanctioned.”
The Big 12’s executive board met Thursday to continue discussions about responding to Sorsby being cleared by a judge to play for Texas Tech this season despite placing thousands of impermissible bets on college and professional sports over the past four years. The league’s other 15 universities have unanimously opposed the Red Raiders playing Sorsby this season.
Yormark will meet with the full board of Big 12 presidents and chancellors Monday and said in a statement Thursday that “all options remain on the table.”
Drummond sent the letter supporting the Big 12 after Paxton notified Yormark and Girod on Thursday that the league would be exposed to “substantial liability” if it takes “unlawful” action against Texas Tech, suggesting the conference would face antitrust exposure, liability for breach of contract and tortious interference.
In response, Drummond wrote that the Big 12 is a private association that adopts and enforces its own rules and possess a contractual relationship with its member institutions sufficient to support its enforcement authority. Drummond believes the Big 12 enforcing its own bylaws is a matter of upholding integrity and fair play among its membership, not causing damage and loss to Texas Tech.
“The letter’s citation to generic propositions of antitrust law holds no weight,” Drummond added. “If Texas Tech pursues such claims, they will fail.”
Drummond called on the Big 12 to take action against Texas Tech and Sorsby under Bylaw 3.6, which allows the conference to sanction a school if a supermajority of directors agree that a member has “engaged in any action or a course of conduct materially adverse to the best interests of the Conference as a whole.”
Paxton wrote that if the Big 12 sanctions Texas Tech for following the temporary injunction, the school will “pursue all legal avenues” to protect its interests. Texas Tech officials released a video Thursday defending their handling of Sorsby’s case and reiterating their support for the transfer quarterback and his recovery from a gambling addiction.
Texas Judge Ken Curry granted Sorsby a temporary injunction Monday that permits him to practice with the Red Raiders and play this fall after he serves a two-game suspension. The NCAA is appealing the decision, but the case isn’t scheduled to go to trial until February.
