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AverageOldGuy

(4,332 posts)
Fri Jun 12, 2026, 04:33 PM Jun 12

What does college football have to do with the US Senate?

In the case of Texas, it's a big deal.

Texas Tech hotshot quarterback, Brendan Sorsby, headed for the pros, was censured by the NCAA because he was betting on his own games. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has now sued th NCAA, saying that Texas will let its college football quarterbacks bet on anything they want.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7351517/2026/06/11/texas-attorney-general-big-12-texas-tech-brendan-sorsby/?source=athletic_user_shared_article_copylink&smid=url-share-ta


The office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sent a formal letter to the Big 12 Conference on Thursday on behalf of Texas Tech University, stating any sanctions imposed by the Big 12 against Texas Tech regarding quarterback Brendan Sorsby would be considered “unlawful” and met with legal action.

. . .

Sorsby was granted a temporary injunction by a Texas state court on Monday that reinstated his athletic eligibility for the 2026 college football season. The decision essentially overruled the NCAA, which had deemed Sorsby permanently ineligible for committing thousands of gambling violations, including betting on his own team as a member of Indiana in 2022. Sorsby will serve a two-game suspension, according to the injunction ruling by Judge Ken Curry in the 99th District Court in Lubbock County, where Texas Tech University is located.


Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General, is the Republican candidate for the US Senate. He's all in favor of players betting on their own games, especially if the player is a pro football prospect who is reportedly receiving $5 million from Texas Tech to play for them. Is this what we should expect from a US Senator?

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/brendan-sorsby-granted-2026-eligibilty-texas-tech-qb-ncaa-gambling/

The Red Raiders spent handsomely over the offseason to lure Sorsby to Lubbock with a reported deal worth more than $5 million. The Corinth, Texas, native was rated the No. 2 player in the transfer portal and a five-star transfer after an All-Big 12 career at Cincinnati.



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hlthe2b

(115,118 posts)
2. Big 12 trying to do the right thing... I do wonder what lengths Paxton would have gone to if
Fri Jun 12, 2026, 05:04 PM
Jun 12

it had been the SEC... Just wondering. (I'm not implying the SEC would not likewise try to hold him responsible for this major rule violation. But, if they did, I'm not so sure Paxton would want to go against them. Just pondering)

hlthe2b

(115,118 posts)
5. Corrected... I read it quickly and don't tend to follow Texas Tech but regardless, point remains.
Fri Jun 12, 2026, 05:12 PM
Jun 12

hlthe2b

(115,118 posts)
7. I don't deny that, but are you opposed to any conference cracking down on players betting on
Fri Jun 12, 2026, 05:16 PM
Jun 12

their own games? Or the NCAA generally?

MichMan

(17,579 posts)
8. Any college athlete gambling on anything should be ineligible
Fri Jun 12, 2026, 05:21 PM
Jun 12

If Texas Tech loses, they need to vacate any wins that he played in.

Rebl2

(17,997 posts)
6. Just shows
Fri Jun 12, 2026, 05:15 PM
Jun 12

How corrupt paxton is. No player college or professional should be allowed to bet on their own games!

jmowreader

(53,518 posts)
10. The NFL doesn't allow players to bet on football in any way, shape or form
Fri Jun 12, 2026, 05:42 PM
Jun 12

In another post I put up I provided a link to the NFL's gambling policy, which is all-encompassing.

For extra entertainment, if you work for the NFL or any of its teams in a non-playing role you can't bet on ANY sports.

Rebl2

(17,997 posts)
12. I figured
Sat Jun 13, 2026, 10:43 AM
Saturday

the players and coaches or anyone who works for a football franchise would not be allowed to bet on football games. I hope they aren’t allowed to bet on college and professional games either, be it football, basketball, baseball or soccer. In other words, no betting on any college or professional sports.

jmowreader

(53,518 posts)
13. According to the NFL's gambling policy...
Sat Jun 13, 2026, 11:02 AM
Saturday

Players on an NFL team are allowed to bet on sports other than football; anyone else working for the NFL or a team in it isn’t allowed to bet on any sport at any level played anywhere in the world.

jmowreader

(53,518 posts)
9. Sorsby has a bit of a problem
Fri Jun 12, 2026, 05:39 PM
Jun 12

This is the NFL's gambling policy: https://nflpaweb.blob.core.windows.net/website/Gambling-Policy-from-2022-League-Policies-for-Players.pdf

Now that it's known Sorsby gambles on his own team, there are 32 ownership groups who are thinking, "how do we know he won't gamble on football if we hire him?"

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