Don't blame the gaming industry or the NCAA if Brendan Sorsby's college football career is over

Don't blame the gaming industry or the NCAA if Brendan Sorsby's college football career is over originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . This is not the fault of any advertising agency, any media entity, any sports league nor even any online sports book.

Given that Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby is entering a residential rehab facility to address a gambling addiction , one might say it’s not entirely his fault, as well. Texas Tech said all the right things in its press release about Sorsby's leave of absence, emphasizing its commitment “to supporting Brendan through his recovery process and to assure his long-term health and well-being. ” That may not be enough to get him on the field this autumn in a Red Raiders uniform.

And it’s not a defense against the allegation that figures to be most problematic for him -- but neither is the prevalence of legal betting options available on a smart phone that are as handy as ordering a car ride or pizza. It is too soon to declare what the ramifications should be regarding Sorsby's future as a college athlete, because we don’t have access to all the information related to his wagering activity: what sports he was betting, and what teams, and to what degree. We do have access to the reporting of ESPN’s Pete Thamel , who wrote that Sorsby entered the rehab facility after it was discovered he’d made “thousands of online bets on a variety of sports”.

Thamel’s sources told him that included wagers in 2022 on Indiana Hoosiers football – when Sorsby was a freshman on the IU squad. That would be as problematic as it sounds. NCAA regulations state those college athletes who bet on their own teams – or even other sports played at their schools – face permanent ineligibility to compete in all NCAA-sanctioned sports.