Brendan Sorsby wins injunction, fights NCAA, then enters NFL supplemental draft
A Texas state court granted quarterback Brendan Sorsby a temporary injunction that allowed him to return to Texas Tech for the upcoming season, overturning the NCAA’s ruling that he was permanently ineligible for gambling violations, The New York Times reported. AP News also noted that the Lubbock County judge cleared Sorsby to compete that fall despite the NCAA’s decision. The NCAA filed an appeal of the district court’s decision, seeking a final ruling before the supplemental-draft deadline, NBC Sports reported. The appeal moved to the Seventh District Court of Appeals, where all four judges are alumni of Texas Tech Law School, according to a later NBC Sports story. Texas Tech warned it would sue the Big 12 and any schools that tried to block Sorsby, and the conference responded with a 47-page lawsuit against the university and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, as detailed by NBC Sports and On3.
The university clarified it had not funded Sorsby’s lawsuit, and donor Cody Campbell defended the quarterback’s eligibility while criticizing opposing schools, reports said. After withdrawing his lawsuit against the NCAA, Sorsby announced he would pursue the NFL supplemental draft, CBS Sports noted. Texas Tech subsequently said it would not seek reimbursement of name-image-likeness payments made to Sorsby after he left the program, NBC Sports reported. The New York Times summarized that Sorsby’s move ends the legal battle over his college eligibility and marks his shift to a professional career.
