As expected, following the NCAA’s denial of Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby‘s reinstatement for the 2026 college football season, Sorsby’s team has filed an appeal. The team’s argument (via Ross Dellenger fo Yahoo Sports) leaned heavily on the framing of Sorbsy’s gambling problem as an issue of mental health and asked that, in lieu of the revocation of his remaining eligibility, the NCAA consider a two-game suspension.
In it’s denial, the NCAA stated that it “did not find any circumstances that warranted reinstating (Sorsby’s) eligibility.” By citing the specifics of Sorsby’s diagnosis and transgressions, the appeal attempts to paint the situation as one without precedent. In doing so, the team argues that the NCAA wouldn’t be following the precedent set by past players who have gambled and been caught; instead, it would be setting a new precedent for punishing a player who admitted to and sought treatment for his mental health disorder.
The team’s appeal obviously argues that Sorsby struggles from a gambling addiction, the mental health challenge that the perpetuated his continuous activity, but the first instances of betting could not be a result of a developed addiction, so they’ve framed that, too, within the scope of mental health. As a report today from ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and David Purdum details at least 2,900 bets at Indiana, alone, totaling more than $30K in wagers, including at least 40 bets on the Indiana football team and its players, Sorsby’s physician asserts that the quarterback’s first bets were the result of “an adjustment disorder with anxiety that caused him to place those bets to feel part of the team.”
That assertion seems to be coming from pretty far out of left field, but if they can successfully establish the ordeal as a result of Sorsby’s struggles with mental health, it will be difficult for the NCAA to continue denying his reinstatement. The team’s appeal cites the NCAA’s own mission statement, grabbing snippets such as “fostering (student-athletes’) lifelong well-being” and promotions for “a culture of care.”
The appeal attempts to shift the focus of the punishment away from Sorsby’s transgressions and towards his ultimate decision to seek treatment. The appeal states that “imposing a career-ending sanction on Sorsby will send the message to current and future athletes hiding in the shadows of the stigma of mental health challenges and addiction that they need to stay silent and never seek help or treatment because the NCAA will take a punitive approach by automatically applying the maximum sanction.” By instead imposing only a two-game suspension, the appeal argues that the NCAA would “be sending an important signal to current and future student-athletes that seeking treatment for an addiction does not have to mean ruining your future.”
The release of the appeal and the documents detailing just how far Sorsby’s gambling went on the same day set up a battle of perception. The 40 bets he placed on his team only totaled around $850, ranging from $1 to $114, but that represents only a microcosm of his habits. Utilizing “accounts registered in his name, a family member’s name, and friends’ names, Sorsby placed at least $90K in impermissible wagers” through four separate betting sites. He reportedly had to transfer up to $60K to friends in order “to cover bets made on his behalf.”
If Sorsby’s team is successful in convincing the NCAA to view the entirety of Sorsby’s gambling history as actions stemming from struggles with mental health, he stands a strong chance of getting to play out his tenure with the Red Raiders. To this point, though, the NCAA has been adamant that it will not negotiate a settlement to reinstate Sorsby. It will be interesting to see if the team’s mental health appeals successfully scare the NCAA away from its current conviction. Will it see a maximum sanction as disincentivizing future student-athletes from gambling or disincentivizing future student-athletes “from seeking the help they desperately need.”
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