Brendan Sorsby court ruling a win for gambling addicts everywhere | Opinion

• A Texas judge granted an injunction allowing Brendan Sorsby to play despite violating NCAA gambling rules.
• Sorsby admitted to placing thousands of bets, including on games involving his own team.
• The ruling raises concerns about the integrity of college football.

1-800-BETSON.

Oops, that’s not a full phone number. I need another digit.

Let’s try, 1-800-BETONCFB.

Whoops, one digit too many.

I’ve got it: 1-800-BETAWAY.

Bet to your heart’s content. Let it ride. Double down.

That’s the message a Texas judge sent to college athletes everywhere when he ruled Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby is free and clear to play college football after he placed thousands of bets that trampled on NCAA rules.

Sorsby’s legal team claimed the NCAA’s gambling rules shouldn’t apply to a gambling addict like Sorsby.

Plus, his lawyers said, he placed those bets because of an anxiety condition.

Sorsby admitted he wagered on sports — a lot — and he placed dozens of bets on games involving his own team. That’s a major violation of the NCAA’s black-and-white gambling rules.

The NCAA had declared Sorsby ineligible because of his yearslong sports wagering activity. Never mind the rules, though, because Sorsby won an injunction from the judge.

This injunction is a loss for college football. It's a win for gambling addiction.

The injunction, Judge Ken Curry wrote, “is necessary to protect (Sorsby’s) rights and interests.” Curry wrote Sorsby would “suffer a probable, imminent and irreparable injury” if he did not receive the injunction.

Well, no kidding. That’s the point of having rules: If you break them, you suffer consequences.

Sorsby, apparently, played this exactly right. Instead of nipping his gambling habit in the bud after just a few bets or seeking help early in his college career, he wagered for years and waited until he got caught last winter before seeking help. Then, he used the fact he’d developed a full-fledged gambling addiction as an argument in his favor.

This court ruling sends a message to athletes: If you’re going to bet on sports as a college athlete, don’t just do it once or twice. Become a gambling fiend, and the NCAA can’t touch you.

The judge ruled Sorsby could be suspended for only two games. Two stinkin’ games against cupcake opponents, as his penalty for placing thousands of prohibited bets.

What a farce.

“In 40 years as a lawyer, I’ve never been as shocked and surprised by a court ruling,” attorney Tom Mars, who often positions himself against the NCAA in cases, told ESPN.

Indeed, this is much more damaging to the NCAA than, say, a court granting an athlete an extra season of eligibility.  

This opens a new line of defense for college athletes everywhere.

Get caught using performance-enhancing drugs? Hire a few lawyers to argue you’re a drug addict who used PEDs because of your anxiety, so the NCAA’s drug rules shouldn’t apply.

When Cam Newton got caught stealing that laptop, he should’ve claimed to be a kleptomaniac.

You think the transfer portal and pay-for-play will ruin college sports?

Pfft, the left guard making six figures or the wide receiver who’s transferred three times in three years is nothing compared to this.

Athletes betting on their own sport — and being allowed to play — now, that’s a serious threat to college sports.   

This court ruling “undermines and corrupts the integrity of sports,” the NCAA said in a statement.

I agree.

Used to be, fans with tinfoil hats would tell you the games were rigged. I mostly rolled my eyes — until now.

Now that a judge ruled a gambling addict who bet on college football is allowed to play college football, I’m willing to engage with the rigged argument. With gamblers on the field taking snaps, why would I trust the game isn’t fixed?

Heck, Kalshi is probably setting up a trade as I type this: Will the 2026 college football season be rigged?

How many athletes would bet, ‘Yes’?

After this court ruling, there’s never been a better time for a college athlete to be a gambling addict.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's senior national college football columnist. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.