Oklahoma AG Urges Big 12 to Sanction Texas Tech Over Brendan Sorsby Situation
As Texas Tech continues to defend their decision to retain quarterback Brendan Sorsby and help him through his sports gambling addiction, the online tug of war over whether they ethically - or legally - can play him is now starting to reach the offices of politicians.
Earlier this week, Texas attorney general Ken Paxton warned that legal action could be taken against the Big 12 Conference if the conference took any action to sanction Texas Tech over their decision. Now, Paxton's counterpart north of the Texas border is telling the Big 12 the opposite.
In a letter to Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark and conference chairman Douglas A. Girod, Oklahoma attorney general Gentner Drummond formally recommended that the conference take action against Texas Tech under the current bylaws. He reasoned that the injunction allowing Sorsby to compete only applies to the NCAA, not to the Big 12, which would open the door for the conference to take action.
The Letter
"My office is aware of a letter sent to the Big 12 Conference from the Texas Attorney General's Office asserting that the Big 12 would violate federal and state antitrust laws by sanctioning Texas Tech," Drummond wrote. "Oklahoma is home to a Big 12 member institution, Oklahoma State University, and my office has a direct interest in the integrity of Conference competition."
"I write further to recommend that the Big 12 take action against Texas Tech under Bylaw 3.6, which allows the Conference to sanction member schools if a ‘Supermajority of Disinterested Directors determines' that a member school has ‘engaged in any action or a course of conduct materially adverse to the best interests of the Conference as a whole.' Sadly, that fits Texas Tech to a T. Its 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. Texas Tech has acted in a manner adverse to the Big 12 and the integrity of college football as a whole.
"Brendan Sorsby broke NCAA rules by wagering roughly $90,000 on sports over four years. He even bet forty times on games involving his own team during his freshman season at Indiana. It goes without saying that an athlete betting on games that his team is competing in threatens the integrity of the game. Fans purchase tickets to games and pay ever-growing prices to watch them on television on the understanding that they are watching an honest, fair sporting event. Athletes gambling on their own games imperils that entire system. That is why leagues have always taken a hard line to punish athletes impermissibly gambling on sports.
"But Texas Tech has not done that. It has shirked responsibility by running with a bogus claim to a friendly court. 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. I also note that the injunction granted to Sorsby applies only to the NCAA. It does not impede the Big 12 from suspending Sorsby. The Conference is not a party to that proceeding, is not enjoined by the order, and its independent enforcement of its own bylaws is not action in concert with the NCAA. My office stands ready to assist the Big 12 if Texas Tech‘s leadership attempts to punish the Conference for doing the right thing."
Naturally, Texas Tech fans continued to defend the team's right to retain Sorsby in the online comments.
But there is a case to be made that until Sorsby actually plays a down for Texas Tech, the controversy is a little overblown.
That said, nobody wants to wait until September to allow someone who bet on football and admitted to it to step foot onto a field.
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This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 3:26 PM.