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Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby is entering treatment for gambling addiction, jeopardizing his future and the team's title hopes. This highlights the growing issue of gambling addiction in college sports.
Right now, you could close out this story, flip over to a gambling app and vaporize your entire paycheck. You could destroy your kidsā college funds or your chances of ever owning a house. Or, if you happen to be in a position to do so, you could blast a hole in the title hopes of one of the nationās top-ranked college football programs.
All of that, right from the betting app on your phone. No matter how much you appreciate, adore or profit from sports gambling, itās undeniable weāve just crossed an ominous new milestone on Monday.
Brendan Sorsby, incoming quarterback for Texas Tech, potential Heisman candidate, possible 2027 NFL Draft first-rounder, is checking into a residential treatment program for gambling addiction. Gambling has now torpedoed both Sorsbyās own immediate future and, likely, that of the preseason top-10 Red Raiders.
Every sports team and league, at every level, ought to be terrified by this story. Weāve known for years how easy it is for gamblers to slide from recreational to addicted, and in turn, how easy it is for the financially vested to overlook a problem until itās too late.
Before we get any deeper here, letās acknowledge the obvious: good on Sorsby for taking this step. Addiction is a disease, one that requires everyone involved ā the victim and their family and loved ones ā to step up and meet its challenge. Sorsby is responsible for his own problems, yes, but admitting that he needs help solving them is a necessary first step. Texas Tech deserves credit, too, for standing behind Sorsby rather than pitching him overboard, and it should continue to do so.
Brendan Sorsby was to be paid millions to quarterback Texas Tech in 2026. Now, a gambling addiction will threaten the entire Red Raiders' season. (Rob Gray-Imagn Images)
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / REUTERS)
Brendan Sorsby is checking into a residential treatment program for gambling addiction, impacting his eligibility for the upcoming season.
Gambling addiction can jeopardize players' careers, financial stability, and overall well-being, as seen in Sorsby's case.
Gambling can lead to addiction, affecting players' performance, eligibility, and the integrity of college sports programs.
Texas Tech is supporting Sorsby by standing behind him during his treatment for gambling addiction.
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According to an ESPN investigation, Sorsby placed thousands of bets through a phone app. While redshirting at Indiana, he bet on the Hoosiers ā always to win games, apparently, and never while he was in the game.
You donāt need to even believe Sorsbyās accounting of his gambling habits to see just how flimsy this whole construct is. Even if he didnāt bet against his own team, or against his own interests, weāve already seen players who have.
The only thing standing between a player throwing down a few fun bets and that same player wagering on season-killing propositions is that playerās own sense of morality and fear of consequences. And at a certain point on the addiction spectrum, morality isnāt even a consideration, and the fear of some possible punishment doesnāt even compare to the need to feed the beast.
Sorsby isnāt the problem here, though. Heās a symptom of a system that continues to show ever-more-destructive potential even as it grows exponentially, funneling ever more money into lobbying efforts, advertising and, yes, media. Make a count ā but please donāt take a drink ā every time you see a gambling reference during a sporting event. See if you can make five minutes without hitting double-digit totals.
Cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, pornography ā all these vices are more easily obtainable now than ever before. And yet they still canāt compare with the ruthless wallet-stripping efficiency of gambling, which resides right there in your phone next to your text and music apps. You canāt download cigarettes or drink a screenshot of a shot, but you can damn sure throw down $100 on the Lakers in the time it takes to start a text to your mother.
Thereās freedom to pursue your own pleasures ⦠and then thereās sticking your hand into a running garbage disposal in the hope that thereās a quarter pinging around down there.
All of us ā gamblers, teams, governments, media ā have been willing to live with the occasional Brendan Sorsby, the occasional federal investigation, the occasional lifetime suspension. The rush of betting the over is too much fun, the occasional inward flow of revenue too welcome. Any attempt to restrict, re-channel or regulate gambling will cut into both the rush and the cash.
The thing is, āJust donāt gamble!ā isnāt a strategy. The temptations are vast, the messaging inescapable, the opportunities widespread, the cash handover frictionless. And now the consequences of our inaction, our blind eyes, our āWell, sucks for themā shrugs are coming ever closer. All the hundreds of millions Texas Tech has spent on its football program, and it all might be undone with a few taps on a phone screen. And your school, your team might well be next.
We can keep hoping that the latest catastrophic gambling story is the last one. Or we can understand that, on our present trajectory, the worst lies ahead. Want to guess which of those two has better odds?