In this post I wrote about the dispiriting tale of Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby, an admitted gambling addict whom a ADA-addled judge ruled could not be banned from playing Big 12 football this season. I wrote then,
“The larger issue is what kind of society this will become if the progressive obsession with empathy and forgiveness for all wrongdoing continues on its current path. Sorsby is an addict, not a bad guy! He shouldn’t be prevented from doing what he loves just because his addiction makes him likely to cheat. It isn’t his fault that he has this affliction! And really, aren’t all criminals just addicts or emotionally damaged in some way? They shouldn’t be in prison. This is why “restorative justice” is the only caring way to deal with our fellow human beings who deceive, cheat, rob, and harm us.”
Meanwhile, the loopy decision was throwing all of football into chaos. After the excessively empathetic judge granted a temporary injunction that allowed Sorsby to return to the team with a slap-on-the-wrist two-game suspension, The Big Ten considered a ban on playing Texas Tech altogether. Athletic directors at other schools erupted in anger. Kansas State AD Gene Taylor called the judge’s ruling “fucking bullshit.” “I think there needs to be serious conversations about not playing Texas Tech in any sports,” University of Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks said. “We cannot in good conscience put our student-athletes on a field where the competitive integrity of the contest is compromised and overridden by the courts.”
This month, Sorsby came to his senses and Texas Tech finally realized the school, its reputation and its athletic program would suffer more than any quarterback was worth if he wasn’t gone. Sorsby dropped his lawsuit against the NCAA and opted to enter the NFL Supplemental Draft, ending his Texas Tech affiliation. But yesterday the NFL announced that it was cancelling its 2026 supplemental draft, and that the decision was entirely because of Sorsby,. The NFL doesn’t wantito have to deal with the controversy. As of now, however, the player is still eligible for the 2027 NFL draft.
The gambling in sports pathogen is not going away, and will continue to spread because of greed, stupidity and the fact that most of the people running collegiate and professional sports, especially football and basketball, have no ethics alarms at all.
Ethics Alarms 
Law of unintended consequences Jack, with a modest amount of NIL money a young, immature player is no longer constrained
Yikes! A return to the comment wars after three long years! Welcome back!
I’m sympathetic to this, but it feels like really bad faith to die on this hill when a lot of other things are much worse. I know this is an ethics rationalization, and I am not trying to use this to say Sorsby should be able to do whatever he wants. I’m fine with him facing consequences; I just want more consistency.
I guess professional sports only care about gambling because it’s directly relevant to the game, but any other conduct not directly relevant doesn’t matter, such as knocking your girlfriend around or scuffling with police.
Not to mention the backroom deals and insane amounts of money some of these kids are getting in NIL money. It really seems like the “legal rules” allow much worse abuse than what he did. I mean, imagine some basketball player at LSU decides to transfer to Alabama for more money. He is still playing at LSU before everything is finalized. He could arguably have an incentive to throw the game or play below his ability.
Was ‘Escape from New York’ science fiction or prophecy?